LIBRARY 

OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Class 


POULTRY 

Appliances 

Handicraft 


HO  W  TO  MAKE  6-  USE 
LABOR  -  SA  VI  NG  DE  VICES 
WI  TH  D  E  S  C  R  I  P  TI  V  E 
PLANS  FOR  FOOD  &  WA  TER 
SUP  PL  Y  B  UILDING  <5r> 
MISCELLANEO  US  NE  E  D  S 
Also  Treats  on  ARTIFICIAL 
INCUBA  TION&  BROODING 

Compiled  by 

GEORGE  B.  FISKE 


Copiously    Illu  strated 


ORANGE    JUDD    COMPANY 
Ne^v   York     Nineteen  Hundred  &r   Two 


•>  \     "t  O 

V"5 


Copyright  iqo2 

by 
Orange    yudd  Company 


1VH1N3D 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER     I 
DEVICES  FOR  FEEDING 

Troughs  for  fowls — Troughs  for  chicks — Hoppers — Shell 
and  grit  feeders — Automatic  feeders — Pens  and  frames — 
Exerciser. 

CHAPTER     II 
FOUNTAINS  AND  WATER  SUPPLY 

System  for  poultry  plant — Self-feeding  fountains — Covered 
fountains — Heated  fountains — Water  for  chicks — Water  for 
ducks. 

CHAPTER     III 
MILLS  AND  FOOD  MACHINERY 

Bone  and  meat  grinders — Food  choppers — Fodder  cutters 
— Grit  machines. 

CHAPTER     IV 
CONVENIENT    ROOSTS 

A  model  arrangement — Portable  perches — Lice  proof — 
Cold  weather  plans — Droppings  boards  and  manure  bins — 
For  young  chickens. 

CHAPTER       V 
DOORS  AND  WINDOWS 

Divided  door — Partition  doors — Plan  for  self-opening — 
Convenient  windows — Warm  windows. 

CHAPTER      n 
NESTING  CONTRIVANCES 

Essentials  of  a  good  nest — Two  nests  from  one  box — 
A  locked  nest — Wire  nests — Movable  arrangement — Nest  for 
egg  eaters — Homemade  recording  nest  box — Combined  nest 
and  roosts — Nests  for  ducks. 


IV  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    VII 
HELPS  IN  HATCHING  SEASON 

The  incubator  problem— Grundy's  advice  on  incubators — 
How  to  make  an  incubator — Egg  tester — Cabinet,  cases  and 
carriers  for  eggs — Shipping  case. 

CHAPTER     VIII 
FROM  INCUBATOR  TO  BROODER. 

Brooder  management — An  expert's  directions — Improved 
brooders — Cheap  brooder — Large  hot  water  system — Home- 
made device — Brooders  for  summer  or  mild  climate. 

CHAPTER     IX 
TRAPS  FOR  POULTRY  PESTS 

The  rat  nuisance — Improved  box  trap — Cat  trap — Skunk 
trap — Protection  from  hawks — Trapping  a  hawk. 

CHAPTER    X 
THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 

Interior  conveniences  —  Ventilators  —  Pulleys  —  Aids  in 
cleaning  houses — Dust  baths — Feeding  arrangements — Feed 
cookers — Anti-scratching  devices — Poultry  hooks — Exerciser 
for  ducks — Cutting  combs  and  wings — Protecting  injured 
fowls. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Feeding    Trough      .........  I 

Slatted  Feeding  Box 2 

Trough    for    Chicks          ........  2 

Dry  Feed  for  Chicks       ........  3 

Feeding   Hopper       .         .         .         .         .         .         .              •   .  4 

Shell  and  Grit  Feeder     ........  5 

Automatic    Feeders 6 

Feeding  Pens  for  Chickens 7 

Wire    Frame 7 

Automatic    Trough 8 

Feeding  by  "Clockwork 9 

Feeding  Board  and  Exerciser         ......  9 

System  for  Water  Supply       .         .         .         .         .         .         .11 

Tank  Fountain          .........  12 

Protection  for  Water  Dish     .......  13 

Covered   Water  Dishes  ........  14 

Winter    Fountain     .        .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .15 

Lamp    Water   Heater      ........  16 

Kettle  and  Heater 17 

Fountain    Warmer  .........  18 

Non-freezing    Fountain  ........  19 

Chick    Fountain        .........  20 

General    Purpose   Fountain 20 

Water  for  Chicks    .........  21 

Casing  for  Water  Can 22 

Safe  Water  Dish 22 

Oyster  Can  Fountain 23 

Box  for  Water  Dish 23 

Pool  for  Ducks 24 

Drinking  Water  for  Ducks 24 

Hand  Bone  Mills 26 

Mounted  Bone  Mills        ........  27 

Food    Chopper          .....  28 


VI  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Root    Cutters .  29 

Fodder    Cutter .        .         .30 

Grit    Pounder  .         .        .         .        .         .  .        .         .31 

Small  Grit  Pounder         .         . 32 

Grit    Mill 32 

Improved    Roost      .........  35 

Low    Improved   Roost     ........  36 

Portable   Roost 37 

Portable  Lice-proof  Roost 37 

Liee-proof  Supporter  for  Roost 37 

Kerosene  Pan  for  Roost          .......  37 

Cold   Weather  Roost 38 

Warm   Roosts           .........  39 

Separate  Roosting   Pens         .......  40 

Roosts  and  Dropping  Boards        ......  41 

Roosts  and  Manure   Bin        .......  41 

Roosts    for    Chickens 42 

Combination    Door          .         .         .         .        .        .         .         -  44 

Combination    Door          ........  45 

Self-opening  Doors         ........  46 

Warm   Windows      ,         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -47 

Protected    Windows        ........  48 

Double    Windows    .........  49 

Plain  Nest  Boxes    .........  52 

Secure  Nest  Box     .........  53 

Three  Useful  Nest  Ideas 54 

Good    Nesting   Arrangements 55 

Trap  Nest  Boxes 56 

Roost  Protected  by  Nest 57 

Nest  from  a  Candy  Pail 58 

Nests  for  Ducks 59 

Plan  for  Homemade  Incubator      ......  64 

Section  Plan   of  Incubator 65 

Incubator   Drawer  and  Heater 65 

Ventilator  Box  for  Incubator 66 

Egg    Tester 70 

Egg    Cabinet 71 

Egg    Case 72 

Egg    Carrier 72 

Egg  Shipping  Case 73 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  Vll 

PAGE 

Diagram  of  Brooder  with  Drum  .     78 

Improved  Brooder  .........     79 

Brooder  for  Fifty  Chicks         .......     80 

Small  Lamp  Brooder       ........     81 

Homemade    Brooder       .         .         .         .        .         .         .         .82 

The  Sure  Brooder 83 

Heater,  Water  Barrel  and  Piping         .        .        .        .        .86 
Diagram  of  Brooder        ........     87 

Section  View  of  Brooder        . 88 

Brooder  for  Mild  Climate .89 

Outdoor  Brooder  and  Run 90 

Improved  Rat  Trap 93 

Cat    Trap          ..........     94 

Skunk    Trap     ..........    95 

Protection   from  Hawks 96 

Trapping  a  Hawk 97 

Setting  a  Hawk  Trap 98 

Interior    Conveniences 101 

Good   Ventilation 102 

Screw    Pulley ....   103 

Homemade   Pulley  ..........   103 

Conveniences   for   Inside   Work     ......   104 

Dust   Bath 105 

Outside  Dust   Bath 106 

For  Dusting  Fowls 106 

Heater  for  Poultry  House     .......  107 

Heater  and  Ventilator 108 

Lamp   Heater 109 

Feed  Cooker no 

Small  Cooker  for  Stove         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  ill 

Worm   Box 112 

To  Prevent  Scratching 113 

Shipping    Crates       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .114 

Hook  for  Catching  Poultry  .         .         .         .         .         .         .   115 

Duck  at  Exercise     .         .        .         .         .        .         .         .         .115 

Leghorns  with  Combs  Cut 116 

Shield  for  Injured  Fowls 117 

Holding  a  Pigeon 118 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

ABOUT  one  hundred  and  fifty  handy 
devices  are  explained  and  illustrated 
in  this  little  book.  These  have  been 
selected  for  superior  merit  from  a  much 
larger  number  available.  Here  skilled  poul- 
try keepers  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
have  detailed  the  favorite  short-cuts  that 
have  saved  them  most  loss  and  trouble. 
Many  new  ideas  have  been  added,  making 
the  whole  a  collection  in  a  condensed  form 
of  the  best  practice  in  poultry  mechanics 
and  handicraft.  The  suggestions  cover 
every  department  and  stage  of  progress, 
from  egg  to  market,  and  include  all  branches 
and  grades  of  the  business.  Not  every 
poultryman  will  need  them  all,  but  it  is 
apparent  that  anyone  who  keeps  chickens, 
turkeys  or  waterfowl  will  find  among  the 
number  abundant  practical  hints  for  decreas- 
ing labor,  waste  and  worry. 


CHAPTER   I 

DEVICES    FOR    FEEDING 

A  considerable  part  of  the  soft  food  is  spoiled  and 
wasted  where  it  is  fed  on  the  ground  or  on  boards  and 
shingles.  Where  one  hundred  fowls  are  kept  and 
twice  the  number  of  chickens  raised,  the  loss  by  such 
methods  may  be  reckoned  at  three  to  five  bushels  of 
feed  a  year.  Feeding  troughs  are  easily  made,  and  will 
quickly  save  their  value,  besides  tending  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  disease  so  often  resulting  from  placing  the 
food  where  the  fowls  can  soil  it. 


FIG     I  :       FEEDING     TROUGHS 

Troughs  and  Boxes — Figure  I  shows  at  the 
left  of  the  illustration  a  feed  trough  that  hens  cannot 
roost  upon,  cannot  get  their  feet  into,  and  at  which 
they  cannot  well  quarrel.  A  V-shaped  body,  with  ends 
as  shown,  is  made  and  a  hinged  cover  placed  so  as  to 
fold  up  against  the  long  slope  of  the  ends.  A  stout 
wire  is  strung  from  the  top  of  one  end  to  the  top  of 
the  other,  and  from  this  wires  extend  down  to  nails 
driven  into  the  front  edge  of  the  trough.  When  the 
food  has  been  placed  inside  and  the  cover  closed,  the 
hens  eat  by  sticking  their  heads  through  the  up- 
right wires. 


2  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

An  excellent  covered  trough  or  box  is  shown  at  the 
right  of  Figure  i.  The  top  is  hinged,  and  so  can  be 
raised  to  put  the  food  inside.  The  fowls  can  then 
insert  only  their  heads  at  the  sides  and  ends.  The  roof- 
shaped  top,  having  a  sharp  apex,  affords  no  chance  for 


FIG   2  :      SLATTED     FEEDING  BOX 

getting  upon  the  feed  box,  and  remaining  there,  as  is 
the  case  with  flat-topped  covers.  This  device  will  also 
aid  in  keeping  the  hens  from  pecking  at  each  other 
when  eating. 

A  capacious  slatted  feed  box  is  shown  in  Figure  2, 
suitable  for  soft  feed  or  for  grain.  The  hens  cannot  get 
into  it  or  crowd  each  other.  The  cover,  which  slopes 
so  they  will  not  fly  upon  it,  is  covered  with  wire  netting 
which  permits  grain  to  be  thrown  into  the  box  without 


FIG     3  :       TROUGH      FOR     CHICKS 

raising  the  cover.  Hens  do  not  like  to  fly  up  and  light 
on  this  netting.  A  square  pan  may  be  placed  in  one 
end  of  this  box  in  which  to  keep  water,  and  in  this 
position  it  can  neither  be  soiled  nor  spilled. 

Young  chickens  while  with  the  hen  are  serious 
wasters  of  soft  food,  whether  fed  wet  or  dry.    Figure  3 


DEVICES    FOR    FEEDING  3 

illustrates  a  little  trough  for  chicks.  It  is  of  wood 
two  inches  deep  and  ten  inches  long  for  thirty  chicks. 
The  ends  are  one  and  one-half  inches  higher,  so  a  slat 
can  be  put  on  it  to  keep  the  dirt  out  of  it.  It  should  be 
placed  in  a  coop  where  the  larger  birds  cannot  enter. 
A  good  feeder  for  dry  cooked  feed  or  dry  meal  and 
grain  for  chicks  is  shown  in  Figure  4.  Make  a  trough 
exactly  as  for  a  pig  except  that  it  has  a  crack  one-fourth 
of  an  inch  wide  at  the  bottom.  Raise  the  trough  a  little 
above  the  ground  by  means  of  two  strips,  c,  fastened 
to  the  ends,  b,  and*  place  a  board,  d,  beneath  the  crack 
of  sufficient  width  that  the  chicks  may  eat  from  it ;  two 
and  one-half  inches  is  sufficient.  Cover  the  top,  d,  and 
the  trough  is  complete.  By  it  the  food  is  kept  fresh  and 
clean,  yet  the  chicks  may  help  themselves  at  any  time. 


FIG    4:       DRY     FEED     FOR     CHICKS 

Bement's  feeding  hopper  is  not  a  patent  affair, 
and  is  a  serviceable  contrivance  for  those  who  practice 
the  plan  of  letting  the  fowls  help  themselves  to  their 
ration  of  whole  grain.  In  Figure  5,  the  end  section 
shows  size  and  operation,  a  is  a  flap  or  hinged  door, 
to  be  opened  and  shut  at  pleasure;  b,  a  hinged  cover, 
through  which  feed  is  supplied ;  c,  an  incline,  throwing 
the  corn  or  other  grain  as  wanted  into  the  feeding 
trough.  This  feeding  hopper  will  answer  a  very  good 
purpose  where  there  are  no  rats  or  mice. 

Feeders  for  Shell,  Bone  and  Grit — Sharp  grit, 
broken  oyster  or  clam  shells  and  charcoal  in  granular 
form  are  necessary  for  the  health  and  productiveness 
of  fowls.  An  excellent  box  for  supplying  these  is 


4  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

shown  in  Figure  6.  It  is  self -delivering,  but  the  grat- 
ing or  wire  netting  over  the  front  keeps  the  fowls  from 
throwing  the  material  out  with  their  bills,  and  thus 
wasting  it.  Kept  before  them  in  this  way  the  hens 
need  never  be  out  of  the  necessary  articles. 

A  similar  feeder  with  single  compartment  and  no 
grating  is  shown  at  the  right  of  the  preceding  in  Figure 


7  finches. 

FIG     5  I       FEEDING     HOPPER 

7.  It  is  filled  at  the  top  and  is  self-feeding.  For  winter 
use  as  grit  nothing  is  quite  so  good  as  the  small  quarry 
stone  fragments  which  may  be  obtained  for  almost 
nothing  at  any  stoneyard.  These  are  kept  on  hand, 
sifted  to  the  right  size,  at  the  poultry  supply  stores  and 
are  now  quite  commonly  used  by  the  best  professional 
poultry  men.  If  there  is  no  quarry  or  stoneyard  near  by, 
a  grit  that  will  answer  very  well  is  a  barrel  or  two  of 
gravelly  sand,  some  of  which  should  be  shoveled  into 


DEVICES    FOR    FEEDING  5 

the  coop  every  week  or  two  in  winter.     Oyster  shells 
are  not  hard  enough  to  take  the  place  of  grit. 

A  simple  and  effective  shell  or  grit  feeder  is  de- 
picted in  Figure  8.  It  can  be  made  of  any  desired  size. 
The  essential  points  to  the  box  are :  The  lid  for  filling, 
at  i  ;  a  board,  2,  to  prevent  the  shells  becoming  scat- 
tered about ;  check  board,  3,  slanting  backward  with 
small  space  of  one  to  two  inches  to  hold  grit,  and  the 
lower  edge  should  be  on  a  level  with  top  of  board,  2. 


FIGS  6 — 7  I      SHELL    AND    GRIT    FEEDER 


Hang  by  hole,  4,  just  high  enough  so  poultry  can  get  at 
the  grit  easily.  The  fowls  pick  it  out  over  board  2,  at  5. 
A  shell  feeder  very  easy  to  make  is  that  shown  at 
the  right  of  the  preceding  in  Figure  9.  It  is  a  good 
style  where  the  shells  and  grit  are  mixed  and  fed  from 
one  box.  The  dotted  lines,  b  b,  indicate  a  sharp  piece 
of  tin  bent  to  cover  half  of  the  holes  in  the  inside  to 
prevent  shells  from  coming  out  too  fast.  The  hole,  a, 
in  the  back  of  the  box,  is  to  hang  up  the  box.  The  box 
is  filled  with  ground  shells  and  hung  up  within  easy 


6  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

reach  of  the  hens,  who  soon  learn  to  pick  the  shells 
from  the  holes,  c  c. 

Feeding  Pens  for  Young  Chickens — -Where  large 
and  small  chickens  run  at  large  in  the  same  lot  the  feed- 
ing of  them  becomes  a  difficult  matter,  as  the  larger 
crowd  the  weaker  and  take  most  of  the  food.  Get  one 
or  more  big  but  low  dry  goods  or  grocery  boxes  and 
remove  a  part  of  each  side,  as  shown  in  Figure  10,  at 
the  left,  making  the  opening  just  high  enough  to  per- 
mit the  small  chicks  to  enter.  Stretch  a  wire  trom 


TTT 


FIGS    8 9:      AUTOMATIC     FEEDERS 

side  to  side  at  the  top  and  throw  feed  inside  for  the 
younger  broods.  They  will  quickly  learn  to  start  for 
their  own  quarters  when  the  feed  dish  appears. 

The  cut  at  the  right  of  Figure  10  shows  a  frame- 
work low  at  one  end  and  much  higher  at  the  other, 
under  which  chickens  of  all  ages  and  sizes  can  be  fed, 
and  each  one  allowed  to  eat  in  peace.  All  sizes  of  chicks 
fed  together  in  an  open  space  results  in  the  big  ones 
trampling  on  the  smaller,  and  robbing  them  of  their 
share.  Some  such  arrangement  as  that  shown  is  abso- 


DEVICES    FOR    FEEDING  7 

lutely  essential  where  chickens  have  to  be  hatched  dur- 
ing a  considerable  space  of  time  in  the  spring.  An  ideal 
condition  is  to  have  the  chicks  all  early  and  all  of  a 
size,  but  few  can  accomplish  this  desirable  end. 

A    wire-topped    feeding    frame   appears    in    Fig- 
ure ii.     The  framework  of  the  rack  proper  is  about 


FIG     lO:       FEEDING     PENS     FOR     CHICKENS 

forty  inches  square  and  consists  of  two-inch  strips 
nailed  to  four  small  two  by  two  posts  about  five  inches 
high,  thus  leaving  a  space  of  about  three  inches  between 
the  frame  and  ground  for  the  chickens  to  enter.  The 
top  is  covered  with  wire  netting  and  the  cross  sticks 
are  inserted  to  keep  it  from  sagging. 


FIG    II 


WIRE     FRAME 


Automatic  Feeder — This  plan,  shown  in  Figure 
12,  may  be  used  for  grain,  shells,  scraps  or  grit,  and 
may  be  adapted  to  fowls  of  any  age  and  size.  It  is 
simple  in  construction  and  may  be  of  any  size  desired, 
but  for  thirty  or  forty  hens  it  should  be  about  one  foot 
wide,  three  feet  long  and  one  and  one-half  feet  high. 


8  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

"-*^ 

The  ends,  a  a,  should  be  cut  as  shown,  then  a  board 
as  wide  as  the  ends  and  as  long  as  the  feeder  should 
be  nailed  horizontally  between  the  ends  as  they  stand 
upright  and  four  inches  below  the  shoulders.  Cut 
the  sides,  b  b,  and  nail  in  position,  next  make  a  V- 
shaped  trough  as  long  as  the  feeder  and  invert  between 
the  lower  edges  of  b  b  to  keep  the  food  from  running 
out  too  much  at  once.  Nail  on  strips,  c  c,  which  should 
be  four  inches  wide,  and  put  on  a  cover  with  hinges. 
Feeding  by  Clockwork — A  feed  box  as  in  Figure 
13  may  be  quite  easily  arranged  to  open  at  a  certain 
hour  each  morning  or  afternoon,  thus  providing  for  the 


FIG     12:      AUTOMATIC    TROUGH 

fowls  during  the  keeper's  absence.  Any  alarm  clock 
with  a  fixed  key  will  answer.  Unscrew  the  key  that 
winds  the  alarm  by  turning  it  backward.  Have  a  piece 
of  thin  but  strong  iron,  about  four  inches  long,  welded 
to  the  key,  so  that  it  protrudes  beyond  the  clock. 

Make  a  box,  of  any  desired  shape,  but  with  a 
cover  on  hinges  that  protrudes  beyond  the  box,  having 
the  part  that  protrudes  heavier  than  the  part  that  covers 
the  box,  so  that  the  box  will  open  when  not  prevented 
from  doing  so  by  the  piece  of  iron,  a,  or  the  alarm  key 
of  the  clock.  Set  the  alarm  for  the  hour  it  is  desired  to 
feed,  do  not  wind  it  too  tight,  and  have  the  alarm  key 


DEVICES    FOR    FEEDING  9 

pointing  in  the  same  direction  as  the  minute  hand  does 
when  five  minutes  before  the  hour. 

Have  the  clock  secured  to  a  block  of  wood,  so  that 
the  lid  of  the  box  is  kept  closed  by  the  alarm  key,  a. 
When  the  alarm  goes  off,  at  feeding  time,  the  alarm 


FIG      13:       FEEDING     BY     CLOCKWORK 

key  will  turn  and  the  feed  box  open.  The  hens  will 
soon  get  used  to  the  alarm  bell,  and  run  for  their  feed 
when  they  hear  it.  The  same  plan  can  be  used  for 
feeding  a  horse,  by  having  the  alarm  key  support  the 
bottom  of  the  box,  which  opens  with  a  hinge  and  allows 


FIG      14:       FEEDING-BOARD     AND     EXERCISER 

the  feed  to  drop  in  the  manger.  The  alarm  key  must 
be  well  screwed  on  to  the  clock,  using  a  small  piece  of 
twine  or  glue  on  the  thread  of  the  screw,  and  the  clock 
must  be  set  well  back  on  the  block  of  wood,  so  as  not 
to  prevent  the  alarm  key  revolving. 


IO  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

Feeding  for  Exercise — Plenty  of  eggs  and  fertile 
ones  never  come  from  fowls  that  are  allowed  to  stuff 
themselves  arid  sit  on  roosts  and  boxes  all  the  time  until 
they  become  sluggish  and  overfat.  The  feed  board 
illustrated  in  Figure  14  is  recommended  by  H.  H.  Stod- 
dard.  A  series  of  boards  are  firmly  joined  to  reach 
across  all  the  pens,  being  attached  by  wires  to  the  raft- 
ers. A  supply  of  fine  grain,  like  wheat,  is  placed  on  the 
boards  over  each  pen,  and  shaken  down  a  little  at  a  time 
by  a  blow  from  a  hammer  applied  at  one  end.  The 
grain  falls  into  several  inches  of  litter  below,  and  the 
fowls  scratch  for  it. 


CHAPTER  II 

FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER   SUPPLY 

The  weak  point  about  most  large  poultry  plants  is  a 
poor  water  supply.  Usually  the  water  is  carried  to 
each  flock  in  pails  and  poured  into  the  dishes  or  foun- 
tains, with  much  labor  and  with  poor  results. 

When  large  numbers  of  birds  are  kept,  it  is  of 
course  desirable  that  a  system  be  adopted  for  saving 
labor.  A  practical  system  in  use  is  where  the  water  is 


FIG      15:       SYSTEM      FOR     WATER     SUPPLY 

supplied  by  inch  pipes  and  having  a  cock  in  each  pen 
directly  over  the  water  trough.  Figure  15  shows  a 
diagram  drawing  of  this  plan.  The  flow  of  the  cocks 
is  regulated  by  having  the  one  in  the  first  pen  run  very 
slowly  and  gradually  increasing  the  flow  of  water  in 
each  pen.  Thus  all  the  troughs  will  be  full  at  the  same 
time.  The  pipe  may  rest  on  the  fencing  which  divides 


12  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

the  runs.  This  plan  of  watering,  designed  by  G.  C. 
Watson  of  the  Pennsylvania  experiment  station,  can 
also  be  used  in  brooder  houses  to  good  advantage. 

It  is  important  to  give  fowls  fresh,  clean  drink.  A 
tank  shown  in  Figure  16  is  well  worth  copying.  The 
upper  part  may  be  a  syrup  can  with  the  bottom  cut  off. 


FIG     l6:       TANK     FOUNTAIN 

In  front  at  the  lower  edge  a  V-shaped  notch  may  be 
cut  three-quarters  of  an  inch  deep.  On  the  opposite 
side,  at  the  top,  a  bucket  ear  may  be  soldered.  At  the 
sides  of  the  bottom  and  near  the  corners,  narrow  strips 
projecting  outward  should  be  soldered  to  slide  under 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  13 

corresponding  strips  on  the  bottom  pan.  The  pro- 
jecting tins  should  be  double  to  gain  strength.  Let 
the  pan  be  an  inch  and  a  half  deep  and  at  least  one  inch 
larger  in  front.  It  may  fit  comfortably  at  the  sides  and 
back  to  slide  easily.  Let  the  can  be  turned  bottom  side 
up,  filled  and  inverted.  It  may  then  be  hung  up  to  suit 
the  fowls,  the  ear  soldered  on  at  the  top  of  the  back 
slipping  over  the  hook  in  the  wall.  Such  a  tank  is  best 
made  of  galvanized  iron.  It  is  a  satisfactory  affair  for 
poultry  of  any  age. 


FIG     17:       PROTECTION     FOR     WATER     DISH 

For  Clean  Water — Where  plain  open  dishes  are 
used,  as  on  most  farms,  they  should  be  put  inside  a 
crate  to  keep  the  birds  from  stepping  into  them  or  sit- 
ting on  the  edge.  An  old  berry  crate  will  do  very  well. 
One  made  to  order  is  shown  in  Figure  17.  It  is  a  box 
and  it  needs  no  back,  as  the  highest  side  is  to  be  set 
against  the  wall.  The  top  is  hinged  so  it  can  be  raised 
to  set  the  basin  in,  and  there  is  a  shelf  six  inches  from 
the  bottom  to  hold  the  basin  and  slats  in  front.  The 
hens  cannot  stand  on  it  nor  in  it,  nor  scratch  dirt  into  it. 


14  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

Another  ingenious  plan  for  keeping  the  water  clean 
appears  at  the  left  of  Figure  18.  A  board  bracket  is 
nailed  to  a  post  or  to  one  of  the  studding  timbers  and 
on  the  under  side  of  it  is  horizontally  fastened  a  square 
piece  of  broad  board  which  serves  as  a  shelf  to  keep  the 
droppings  from  falling  into  the  drinking  vessel  below. 
The  vessel  should  be  of  such  a  hight  that  the  fowls  can- 
not get  between  it  and  the  shelf  so  as  to  roost  on  the 
edge  of  the  vessel.  Blocks  may  be  placed  below  it 
for  this  purpose.  At  the  same  time  the  shelf  should 
be  sufficiently  high  that  the  fowl  need  only  to  stoop 


FIG     l8:       COVERED     WATER     DISHES 


very  slightly  to  drink.  This  simple  contrivance  will 
be  found  of  great  service  in  protecting  the  drinking 
water  which  must  be  given  to  the  fowls  in  their  houses 
on  stormy  or  very  cold  days. 

The  fountain  shown  at  the  right  side  of  Figure 
1 8  will  also  keep  the  water  fairly  clean,  besides  having 
a  distinct  merit  of  its  own.  Such  breeds  as  the  Leg- 
horns, Minorcas  and  some  others  have  such  large  combs 
and  wattles  that  there  is  much  danger  in  watering  them 
in  winter  from  open  dishes.  They  wet  these  head  appen- 
dages, then  become  chilled  and  many  times  frozen.  A 
device  for  avoiding  this  is  shown  in  the  cut.  A  dish, 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  15 

whose  sides  do  not  flare  at  all,  is  fitted  with  a  circular 
piece  of  board  that  will  loosely  fit  inside.  In  this 
board  are  four  or  more  small  round  openings,  through 
which  the  fowls  can  thrust  their  beaks,  but  not  their 
combs  or  wattles.  As  the  water  is  consumed  the  board 
falls,  bringing  the  surface  always  within  reach. 

Heated  Fountains — Water  from  which  the  chill 
has  been  warmed  away  is  a  stimulant  to  egg  produc- 
tion, just  as  it  is  to  the  milk  flow  when  given  to  cattle. 
The  illustration  shows  a  plan  which  has  been  used  in  a 


FIG     19:       WINTER    FOUNTAIN 

cold  climate  all  last  winter,  keeping  the  water  free 
from  ice  during  the  severest  weather. 

The  one  in  Figure  19  holds  about  thirteen 
gallons,  but  could  be  made  to  contain  twice  that 
quantity  if  desired.  It  is  a  capital  idea  for  both 
summer  and  winter.  Anyone  can  make  the  frame  for 
the  fountain  and  any  tinsmith  can  make  a  galvanized 
tank  after  this  pattern.  The  cost  of  the  frame,  includ- 
ing end  rods  and  braces,  will  not  be  over  fifty  cents, 
while  the  tank  will  cost  about  fifteen  cents  per  pound, 
all  made.  In  summer  it  should  be  kept  out  of  doors, 


l6  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

either  on  grass  or  a  wood  platform,  so  the  ducks  and 
geese  cannot  foul  the  water.  A  shade  of  some  kind 
should  be  furnished. 

During  the  winter  the  fountain  should  be  fur- 
nished with  a  base,  as  indicated  by  dotted  lines.  Use 
a  brooder  stove  in  freezing  weather.  It  will  be  unneces- 
sary to  burn  the  stove  during  the  night,  for  a  very 


FIG    2O  :       LAMP     WATER     HEATER 

little  heat  will  thaw  it  out  in  the  morning.  It  will  be 
better  to  set  the  fountain  between  two  pens,  for  the 
birds  can  drink  from  both  sides,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
picture. 

In  constructing  one  of  these  fountains,  loose  pin 
butt  hinges  are  used  to  fasten  the  bottom  to  the  top. 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  17 

The  rod  or  axle  on  which  it  rests  goes  completely 
through  the  fountain  and  is  of  galvanized  iron,  being 
soldered  around  it  to  make  it  tight.  When  filling,  the 
fountain  is  turned  bottom  up  and  made  fast  by  the 
little  hooks,  as  seen  in  the  cut.  The  rod  should  be 
exactly  in  the  center  of  the  tank.  The  principle  is  the 
same  as  in  all  fountains  that  turn  in  the  hand,  only  the 
frame  in  which  it  rests  makes  it  possible  to  increase 
the  size. 

A  fountain  like  that  in  Figure  20  may  be  kept  from 
freezing  at  very  little  expense  for  oil,  and  it  works  per- 


FIG     21  :       KETTLE     AND     HEATER 

fectly  if  the  funnel  part  is  carefully  soldered  where  it 
joins  the  dish.  Take  a  plain  side,  cake-baking  tin 
with  a  funnel  in  the  center ;  also,  a  butter  firkin  or  nail 
keg,  and  a  small  naphtha  hand  lamp  (without  the  cot- 
ton filling).  Place  the  lamp  on  the  bottom  of  the 
firkin,  lower  the  tin  until  the  wick  of  the  lamp  is  half 
an  inch  up  the  funnel,  now  insert  four  screws  in  the 
bottom  of  the  firkin,  opposite  to  each  other,  and  just 
above  the  bottom  of  the  tin.  These  pressing  against 
the  slanting  sides  of  the  tin  will  support,  and  turned 
out  or  in  will  raise  or  lower  the  tin.  Tack  the  firkin 


l8  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

hoops  at  the  top,  middle  and  bottom,  between  top  and 
middle  hoop  on  two  sides,  cut  out  one  or  two  staves 
to  allow  the  fowls  a  place  to  reach  the  water.  Nail  a 
piece  of  tin,  loosely,  on  under  side  of  cover,  also  a 
strap  or  rope  on  firkin  for  a  bail,  and  it  is  complete. 
Use  kerosene,  and  regulate  the  flame  to  prevent 
smoking. 

Figure  21  shows  a  very  simple  but  effective  heated 
fountain  which  can  be  rigged  up  in  fifteen  minutes 
with  common  tools.  The  top  of  a  box  is  covered  with 
zinc  or  sheet  iron,  projecting  at  the  ends  enough  to 
make  a  stand  for  the  fowls,  while  drinking,  or  if  pre- 


FIG     22  :       FOUNTAIN     WARMER 

ferred,  the  box  may  be  partly  sunk  in  the  earth  and 
banked  a  little  at  the  ends.  A  common  hand  lamp  is 
placed  in  the  box  under  the  metal  cover,  which  should 
not  come  within  three  or  four  inches  of  the  chimney. 
A  very  small  blaze  is  enough,  and  none  is  needed  on 
mild  days.  The  iron  kettle  holding  the  water  should  be 
a  large  one.  Keep  the  fowls  off  the  edge  by  a  partition 
of  tin,  as  shown. 

Fountain  Warmer — Figure  22  shows  a  patent  con- 
trivance furnished  by  the  supply  stores,  and  so  ar- 
ranged that  food  and  water  or  water  and  milk  may  be 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  IQ 

kept  warm  and  free  from  ice.  Fountain  and  feed  box 
work  automatically.  Oil  is  burned.  The  idea  could  be 
combined  with  the  fountain  shown  in  Figure  19  or  21 
so  that  more  than  one  substance  may  be  kept  warm 
from  a  single  lamp. 

Anti-Freeze  Fountain — An  earthen  jug  is  so  fas- 
tened into  the  half  barrel  by  means  of  crosspieces  that 
its  mouth  will  come  near  the  bottom  of  the  tub,  upon 
one  side — a  piece  of  a  stave  being  removed  at  that 


FIG     23  :       NON-FREEZING     FOUNTAIN 

point  (Figure  23).  The  space  around  the  jug  is  rilled 
with  fermenting  horse  manure,  and  slats  are  nailed 
across,  when  the  "fountain"  is  ready  for  use.  Fill  the 
jug  with  water  and  cork  it ;  then  invert  the  tub,  bring- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  jug  over  a  basin,  as  shown  in  the 
engraving.  When  the  cork  is  withdrawn  the  water  will 
flow  until  the  mouth  of  the  jug  is  covered ;  it  will  then 
cease,  and  as  the  water  is  used,  more  will  come  from  the 
jug,  and  so  on,  forming  a  continuous  self-acting  foun- 


20 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 


tain.  Such  a  contrivance  will  keep  the  water  from 
freezing,  except  in  the  coldest  winter  weather.  The  jug 
should  be  emptied  at  night. 


FIG     24:       CHICK     FOUNTAIN 


FIG    25  !       GENERAL     PURPOSE      FOUNTAIN 

Chick  Fountains — A  fountain  for  little  chickens 
should  be  so  arranged  that  they  can  always  get  water 
without  soiling  it  or  running  the  risk  of  drowning. 
Many  of  the  chick  fountains  are  also  very  good  for 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  21 

fowls  of  all  ages.  The  simplest  form  is  that  of  the 
bottle  or  can  filled  and  placed  mouth  down  over  a  plate 
or  shallow  dish.  An  improved  form  is  shown  in  Fig- 
ure 24.  Select  one  of  the  gallon-size  fruit  cans  and  set 
it  upside  down  in  a  tin  cake  dish  from  the  five-cent 
counter.  Make  two  dents  in  the  edge  of  the  can,  as 
shown,  and  fit  a  wire  from  one  edge  of  the  plate  up 
over  the  can,  and  down  to  the  other  side.  If  preferred, 
a  pail  may  be  used,  as  shown  at  the  right  of  the  basin, 


FIG     26:       WATER     FOR     CHICKS 

the  cover  fitting  air-tight  and  holes  being  punched  near 
the  bottom. 

Figure  25  is  also  a  fountain  from  an  old  fruit  can 
with  the  top  soldered  tight  again,  a  hole  punched  near 
the  bottom  and  a  lip  soldered  on  to  hold  the  flow.  All 
the  preceding  chick  fountains,  as  also  the  bottle  foun- 
tain in  Figure  26,  depend  on  keeping  the  tank  air-tight 
above  the  water  line,  so  that  the  water  can  escape  only 
as  fast  as  the  chicks  drink  it,  thus  admitting  air  from 
below. 

Figure  26  explains  itself.  A  bottle  holding  one  or 
two  gallons  will  work  as  well  as  the  small  one  shown. 


22 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 


It  should  be  fitted  with  a  cork  having  a  groove  at  one 
side  for  convenience  when  replacing  the  bottle  after 
refilling.  A  shallow  dish  may  be  used  instead  of  the 
wooden  box. 

Figure  27  shows  the  invention  of  an  exasperated 
poultryman  whose  hens  with  chicks  insisted  on  scratch- 


FIG     27  :       CASING     FOR     WATER     CAN 

ing  over  the  water  dish  as  soon  as  possible.  It  is  of 
four  square  pieces  of  plank,  all  but  the  lower  section 
being  hollowed  out  enough  to  admit  the  water  can. 
The  whole  thing  being  quite  heavy,  it  cannot  be  upset 
by  the  fowls.  If  the  dish  is  a  deep  one,  a  stone  should 
be  kept  in  it  to  prevent  chicks  from  drowning. 


FIG    28:       SAFE    WATER    DISH 


A  water  dish  in  which  chicks  are  never  drowned 
appears  in  Figure  28.  There  is  a  wooden  box  eighteen 
inches  long  and  four  inches  wide.  It  should  be  about 
two  inches  deep  on  the  inside.  The  cover  is  a  board 
one  inch  thick,  with  four  or  five  three-fourths-inch 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  23 

holes  bored  through  it.  Make  the  cover  a  little  smaller 
than  the  box,  so  it  will  go  easily  inside.  Fill  box  half 
full  of  water  and  allow  board  to  float  on  top.  The 
board  will  support  the  weight  of  the  chick  and  the 
water  will  rise  about  half  way  through  the  holes. 
Using  this,  the  chicks  will  not  get  wet. 


FIG    29  :       OYSTER-CAN     FOUNTAIN 

A  similar  effect  is  secured  in  a  very  simpie  way 
in  Figure  29.  Take  an  oyster  can  and  cut  an  opening 
on  one  side,  as  illustrated.  It  cannot  be  turned  over, 
and  water  will  not  spill  out  when  carrying  it.  When 


FIG    30:      BOX    FOR    WATER    DISH 

full  it  will  hold  enough  water  for  about  fifteen  chicks 
one  day.    It  will  cost  but  little,  as  it  can  be  made  of  any 


24  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

size  by  a  tinner  in  a  short  time,  if  desired  of  larger 
capacity. 

Protection  for  Water  Dish — Make  a  shallow  box 
and  hinge  to  it  a  cover  of  slats  made  of  laths,  as  in 


FIG     31  :       POOL     FOR     DUCKS 

Figure  30.  Through  these  the  fowls  can  reach  the 
water,  but  cannot  soil  it.  Have  the  box  just  large 
enough  to  set  the  dish  of  water  within,  and  shut  the 


FIG  32  :       DRINKING    WATER    FOR    DUCKS 

slat  cover  down  over  it.  A  similar  device  for  giving 
water  in  a  way  to  keep  the  fowls  out  of  the  water  vessel 
is  to  have  a  moderately  high  box,  with  slats  up  and 


FOUNTAINS    AND    WATER    SUPPLY  25 

down  one  side.  Then  set  the  water  dish  within,  and 
the  fowls  can  drink  through  the  slats.  The  top  of  the 
box,  or  cover,  should  be  sloping,  to  keep  the  fowls  off 
from  it. 

Water  for  Ducks — Where  no  pool  of  water  is  at 
hand  for  ducks,  a  small  pool  can  easily  be  made  for 
them,  as  in  Figure  31.  Dig  a  square  hole  eight  inches 
deep  and  as  large  as  desired.  Put  eight-inch  boards 
around  the  sides.  Now  tamp  down  the  bottom  hard 
and  level,  and  coat  the  surface  with  an  inch  of  cement, 
bringing  the  coating  up  to  the  top  of  the  boards  at  the 
sides,  of  the  same  thickness  as  the  bottom.  Drive  shin- 
gle nails  thickly  into  the  boards  to  give  the  cement 
something  to  cling  to.  In  the  same  way  a  pool  for  a 
"water  garden"  can  be  made  for  the  growing  of 
aquatic  plants. 

Where  the  object  is  merely  to  supply  the  abun- 
dance of  drinking  water  so  necessary  to  young  ducks 
at  feeding  time,  a  large  flat  trough,  as  in  Figure  32, 
will  answer  the  purpose. 


CHAPTER  III 


MILLS     AND     FOOD     MACHINERY 

Prepared  foods,  grit,  shells,  meat  and  clover,  may 
be  bought  at  most  large  agricultural  stores.  Special 
home  machines  for  such  purposes  are  therefore  not 
positively  required  even  where  a  complete  food  assort  - 


FIG    33  I       HAND    BONE    MILLS 

ment  is  wanted.  But  where  home  resources  are  to  be 
utilized  to  full  extent  and  every  penny  saved,  a  few 
good  food  machines  will  pay  well  for  the  keeping. 

Bone  Mills — One  of  these  machines  is  needed  on 
every  farm,  since  it  affords  the  only  means  of  making 


MILLS    AND    FOOD     MACHINERY  2  7 

full  use  of  the  bone  refuse  which  is  constantly  accumu- 
lating. A  first-class  mill  will  work  bone  and  flesh  of 
dead  animals  and  the  waste  from  the  table  or  market 
into  pieces  that  can  be  swallowed  by  the  fowls. 

By  grinding  and  feeding  the  bones  their  full  value 
is  secured,  as  they  furnish  a  first-class  egg  food,  while 
most  of  the  fertilizing  value  is  secured  in  the  manure. 
Manure  from  animal  food  is  nearly  as  rich  as  guano. 

Several  types  of  the  hand  bone  mill  are  shown  in 
Figure  33.  The  two  upper  mills  are  for  dry  bones 


FIG    34:       MOUNTED    BONE    MILLS 

only,  and  are  therefore  less  useful  for  general  pur- 
poses. They  cost  about  five  dollars  each,  but  some  of 
this  type  are  sold  as  low  as  two  dollars  and  a  half. 

The  two  mills  at  lower  part  of  Figure  33  are  for 
green  bones.  The  first  pattern  works  with  a  chopping 
motion.  The  secc ;  d,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  popu- 
lar styles,  has  a  cutting  action.  Both  are  good  for  their 
size,  but  to  operate  them  with  heavy  bones  is  tedious 
work.  For  a  good-sized  flock  it  is  best  to  have  a  large 


28 


POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 


mill  as  shown  in  Figure  33,  arranging  it  to  run  by 
power  attachment  if  possible.  A  one-horse  sweep 
power  will  drive  a  good-sized  machine.  Figure  34 
shows  the  Ohio,  Mann  and  Adam  makes,  besides 
which  there  are  many  others  equally  effective.  Bones, 
if  tolerably  fresh,  and  meat  may  be  quite  freely  fed  if 
the  fowls  are  watched  and  the  quantity  reduced  at  first 
sign  of  bowel  disorder.  The  larger  machines  cost  from 


FIG 


FOOD     CHOPPER 


eight  dollars  to  twenty-five  dollars,  according  to  size 
and  style. 

Food  Choppers — Where  plenty  of  liver,  lights  or 
other  solid  meat  can  be  had  cheap  from  slaughter 
houses,  such  meat  will  furnish  the  best  form  of  animal 
food.  It  can  be  worked  up  very  fast  in  a  large,  strong 
meat  cutter  like  that  shown  in  Fig-are  35,  which  will 
cut  three  or  four  pounds  a  minute,  fine  or  coarse,  and 


MILLS     AND     FOOD      MACHINERY  2£ 

can  be  bought  of  the  supply  stores  for  about  two  dol- 
lars, with  a  choice  of  several  different  makes.  These 
machines  will  work  up  any  kind  of  soft  refuse  food. 
For  Vegetables  and  Fodder — For  reducing  green 
vegetables,  root  pulpers,  as  shown  in  Figure  36,  are 


FIGS    36 — 37  :      ROOT  CUTTERS 

useful.  Machines  may  be  had  which  will  answer  for 
cattle  and  for  poultry  also.  Fowls  will  consume  large 
quantities  of  finely-cut  vegetables,  reducing  the  grain 
bill  and  maintaining  the  relaxed  condition  of  the  sys- 
tem favorable  to  egg  production. 

Cut  fodder  will  always  pay  for  fowls  in  close 
quarters  or  in  winter  where  snow  covers  the  ground. 
The  old  style  hand  lever  cutters  will  cut  clover  or 
rowen  fine  enough  f-jr  chickens.  Some  styles  of  the 
wheel  cutters,  like  the  one  in  Figure  37,  are  made  with 


3O  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

special  reference  to  needs  of  poultry  and  can  be  set  to 
cut  very  short.  In  summer  the  lawn  mower  affords  a 
convenient  supply  of  short,  tender  grass  for  chicks  and 
older  fowls  in  yards.  The  surplus  should  be  kept  for 
winter  use. 


FIG    38:       FODDER    CUTTER 

To  Balance  a  Small  Mill — Attach  a  small  crank 
mill  such  as  is  used  for  grinding  coffee  and  grain  for 
household  use  to  the  balance  wheel  of  a  corn  sheller, 
fodder  cutter  or  similar  weight/  machine,  simply  tying 
the  handle  of  the  mill  to  a  spoke  of  the  large  wheel. 
The  mill,  if  not  already  secure,  should  be  bolted  to  the 
wall  at  the  right  hight  for  the  power.  A  mill  geared 


MILLS     AND      FOOD      MACHINERY  3! 

this  way  may  be  driven  very  fast  for  coarse  grinding, 
and  is  very  convenient  for  preparing  special  mixtures 
for  poultry  or  for  cooking  purposes.  A  small  bone 
cutter  may  be  operated  in  the  same  manner. 

Grit  Pounders — To  keep  poultry  in  thrift,  and 
furnish  material  for  eggshells,  lime  is  necessary,  as  we 
have  said.  Oyster  shells  and  clam  shells  are  much 
used.  To  pound  these,  a  log  of  wood  may  be  slightly 


FIG    39  :       GRIT    POUNDER 

hollowed  at  one  end,  and  surrounded  with  a  piece  of 
tin  (Figure  39),  an  opening  being  left  to  admit  the 
handle  of  the  pestle,  which  is  like  a  wooden  mallet,  the 
striking  end  being  armed  with  small  bolts,  driven  into 
the  wood  so  as  to  leave  the  heads  exposed.  A  ring  to 
prevent  splitting  will  be  an  improvement. 

Another  style,  good  for  crockery  and  glass,  is 
shown  in  Figure  40.  Take  a  piece  of  railway  iron 
about  two  feet  long,  and  make  a  box  without  top  or 


32  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

bottom,  one  foot  high,  and  just  wide  and  long  enough  to 
fit  neatly  over  the  rail.  Place  the  dishes,  etc,  in  this 
mortar  and  break  up  with  an  old  ax  or  sledge.  When 
done  remove  box  and  let  the  chickens  at  the  grit. 


FIG  40:      SMALL    GRIT     POUNDER 


FIG  41  I      GRIT    MILL 


MILLS     AND     FOOD      MACHINERY  33 

A  very  powerful  grit  machine  is  that  in  Figure 
41.  It  does  rapid  work  with  crockery,  glass  or  shells, 
crushing  them  with  an  action  much  like  that  of  a  pair 
of  strong  jaws.  The  grinders  are  the  six-foot  arms, 
d  d,  shod  with  roughened  iron  plates  above  the  pivots 
at  I,  and  moved  to  and  fro  by  means  of  the  lever,  K. 

The  frame,  a  b  a  b,  is  four  by  five  feet,  made  of  tim- 
ber four  by  six  inches.  The  hopper,  /  /,  is  one  foot 
deep.  The  pivots  at  /,  bf  e,  e,  are  stout  bolts  set  to  play 
freely,  but  the  bolt  at  g  i  is  screwed  tight.  The  small 
side  drawing  shows  construction  of  grinder  arms. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CONVENIENT    ROOSTS 

The  most  simple  form  of  good  roost  comprises  a 
series  of  straight  poles,  two  inches  thick  and  with  bark 
left  on.  They  should  be  all  on  a  level  and  not  more 
than  three  feet  from  the  ground.  They  may  extend 
straight  across  the  building,  each  pole  resting  in  a 
socket  cut  into  a  frame  joist  of  each  side,  thus  allowing 
each  or  all  poles  to  be  easily  removed  for  cleaning. 
Lightness  and  a  neat  appearance  will  be  gained  if  two 
by  four  building  joists  with  two  of  the  corners  rounded 
off  are  used  in  place  of  poles. 

Another  decided  improvement  it  to  attach  the 
roosts  to  a  frame,  and  attach  the  whole-by  hinges  and  a 
cord,  as  in  Figure  42,  thus  allowing  the  frame  to  shut 
down  close  against  the  wall.  The  cord,  c,  is  hung  from 
the  roof  and  is  hooked  to  the  frame.  At  d  is  a  support 
to  steady  the  frame. 

A  modification  of  this  plan  is  shown  in  Figure  43, 
which  represents  a  very  low  roost  for  young  chickens 
or  for  heavy  breeds.  The  frame  of  roosts  simply  rests 
upon  the  floor,  and  when  moved  it  is  leaned  back 
against  the  wall  in  direction  of  dotted  lines,  c  c.  The 
bars  of  this  roost  are  made  flat  to  prevent  crooked 
breast  bones,  often  resulting  in  heavy  young  birds 
from  pressure  against  small  or  sharp  roosts. 

Portable  perches  are  shown  in  Figures  44  and  45. 
They  are  very  handy,  not  only  at  cleaning  time,  but  to 
be  transferred  from  one  house  to  another.  In  Figure 
44  is  a  simple  form  of  single  pole  on  V-shaped  frame 


CONVENIENT     ROOSTS  35 

with  droppings  board  below.  In  Figure  45  are  two 
poles.  It  prevents  the  chickens  from  crowding  at  ends 
of  perches,  as  the  ends  do  not  connect  with  the  sides 
or  ends  of  building.  The  kerosene  cups  prevent  ver- 
min from  working  to  and  from  any  part  of  the  building 


FIG    42  :       IMPROVED     ROOST 


on  the  chickens  at  night.  The  coop  is  more  easily  kept 
free  from  vermin,  and  does  away  with  whitewashing 
and  cleaning  in  a  great  measure.  They  are  not  expen- 
sive, and  in  many  cases  the  standards  can  be  mortised 


30          POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

in  the  four  beams,  and  then  would  require  only  four 
pieces  of  timber.  Perches  are  fourteen  inches  high, 
made  of  two  by  fours,  and  are  twenty-two  inches  wide. 
The  perches  are  not  mortised  all  the  way  through  and 
are  not  fastened. 

Vermin    Proof — The   preceding   cut,    Figure   45, 
shows  the  supports  of  the  roost  protected  by  an  oil  cup. 


FIG 


LOW     IMPROVED     ROOST 


In  Figure  46  appears  a  somewhat  similar  device,  where 
the  pole  rests  on  the  point  of  a  malleable  iron  bracket. 
In  the  illustration,  A  is  a  saucer-shaped  collar,  B  the 
cavity  in  the  collar,  D  a  hole  bored  through  the  two  by 
four  roost  scantling  C.  It  is  designed  that  kerosene  oil 
be  poured  through  D  until  B  is  filled  and  this  will  keep 
the  little  red  mites  from  crawling  from  the  ground  and 


CONVENIENT     ROOSTS 


37 


FIG     44:       PORTABLE     ROOST 


FIG    45  :      PORTABLE   LICE-PROOF     ROOST 


FIG  46:      LICE-PROOF     SUPPORTER     FOR     ROOST 


FIG     47  :       KEROSENE     PAN     FOR     ROOST 


38  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

sides  of  the  building  to  the  roost,  The  brackets 
should  be  placed  upon  opposite  sides  of  the  building, 
so  that  each  roost  will  extend  clear  across.  The  hole 
in  the  roost  should  be  made  so  large  that  it  can  be 
easily  taken  off. 

A  plan  slightly  more  simple  is  depicted  in  Figure 
47,  where  the  roost  pole  rests  in  a  square  pan  or  metal 
box.  The  pan  is  charged  with  water,  on  top  of  which 
floats  a  layer  of  oil. 

Cold  Weather  Plans — Where  a  small  flock  of  Leg- 
horns, or  other  tender,  large-combed  breed,  is  kept,  it 
is  important  to  provide  a  very  warm  roosting  place  for 
them  if  winter  eggs  are  to  be  looked  for  in  severe 


FIG    40 :       COLD    WEATHER    ROOST 


climates.  Figure  48  shows  a  simple  way  to  make  such 
a  warm  roosting  place.  The  barrels  shut  up  close  to- 
gether in  use,  and  the  fowls  enter  and  leave  by  the 
opening  that  is  shown.  The  barrels  can  be  removed 
as  warm  weather  approaches,  and  the  usual  roosts 
substituted. 

In  Figure  49  is  shown  one  end  of  the  poultry  house 
partitioned  off,  and  the  separated  portion  divided  in 
two  by  a  platform  at  the  middle  point  from  floor  to 
ceiling.  The  upper  part  contains  the  roosts  and  below 
is  a  dusting  place,  with  a  small  window  toward  the  sun. 
In  front  is  a  hinged  door  that  shuts  up  before  the  roosts 
at  night  to  provide  warmth,  and  shuts  down  over  the 


CONVENIENT    ROOSTS 


39 


dusting  room  in  the  daytime  for  warmth.  Two  round 
openings  give  entrance  to  the  dusting  room  and  ventila- 
tion to  both  places. 

Writes  J.  E.  Jones  of  Wayne  county,  New  York : 
"My  plan  of  keeping  Light  Brahma  fowls  warm  winter 
nights  is  as  shown  in  Figure  50,  at  the  left  of  the  illus- 
tration. It  appears,  after  due  experience,  to  be  best 


FIG  49:       WARM    ROOSTS 

with  Brahmas  and  Cochins  to  have  no  roosts,  but  to 
have  the  fowls  sit  upon  the  floor  at  night.  The  floor 
should  have  a  thick  coating  of  road  dust  or  loam,  and 
upon  this  a  thick  coat  of  leaves  or  straw.  On  such  a 
floor  fowls  will  rest  most  comfortably.  If  roosts  are 
provided,  even  low  ones,  some  of  the  fowls  will  not  go 


40          POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

upon  them,  their  great  weight  making  them  timid. 
They  will  huddle  on  the  floor  under  the  roost,  where 
they  would  become  cold,  and  their  plumage  probably 
soiled  in  the  morning.  A  low,  small  addition  is  made 
to  the  regular  poultry  quarters,  the  hight  not  being 
more  than  half  that  of  the  latter.  Across  the  front 
of  the  opening  is  a  burlap  curtain,  hung  on  a  wire, 
which  is  drawn  across  the  opening  on  cold  nights,  mak- 
ing the  fowls  very  warm  within.  This  low  addition 


FIG  50:      SEPARATE  ROOSTING  PENS 


can  very  easily  be  made  if  the  poultry  quarters  are  in 
another  building,  the  night  quarters  being  let  out  into 
the  room  adjacent." 

Another  curtain  plan  for  cold  weather  appears  in 
Figure  50  at  the  right.  Have  all  the  perches,  b,  in  one 
end  of  the  coop  and  fasten  rings  to  the  ceiling  so  that 
a  heavy  burlap  or  flannel  curtain,  a,  may  be  hung, 
dividing  the  coop.  There  will  be  enough  natural  heat 
from  the  fowls'  bodies  to  warm  this  smaller  space  in 
the  coldest  weather.  Hang  the  curtain  in  place  after 
the  fowls  go  to  roost. 


CONVENIENT    ROOSTS  4! 

Droppings  Boards — These  are  convenient  where 
the  droppings  are  removed  often,  as  they  should  be  in 
summer,  at  least.  The  convenient  roosting  device 
shown  in  Figure  51  is  submitted  by  Mrs  J.  Fairbank, 
a  successful  Pacific  coast  poultrywoman,  who  writes : 


^     ffoosrj 


FIG     51  :       ROOSTS     AND     DROPPING     BOARDS 


FIG  52:       ROOSTS      AND     MANURE    BIN 

"To  arrange  this  plan  of  roosting  and  dropping  boards, 
first  take  a  two  by  eight  plank,  sixteen  inches  long,  nail 
one  end  to  the  floor,  five  feet  from  the  north  side. 
Take  a  one  by  eight-inch  board,  five  feet  long,  to  which 
nail  a  cleat  sixteen  inches  from  the  floor  and  nail  the 


42  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

other  end  of  the  board  to  the  side  of  the  wall.  Nail  the 
bottom  board,  one  by  eight  feet,  on  top  of  a  short  end 
piece.  Cut  rafter  two  by  four  inches  by  six  feet.  Nail 
rafter  to  short  plank  and  to  meet  other  rafters,  and  nail 
on  boards  to  make  slanting  platform.  Chaff  should  be 
placed  in  the  space  under  the  dropping  boards,  thus 
making  the  entire  floor  available  for  exercise.  Hoe 
the  droppings  from  the  bottom  board  into  a  box." 

Roost  and  Manure  Bin — Figure  52  shows  one  of 
the  best  plans  for  caring  for  poultry  manure.     The 


FIG   53  :       ROOSTS    FOR    CHICKENS 


manure  bin  is  built  against  the  side  of  the  pen,  and  has 
a  single  roost  in  the  center  above  it. 

The  front  of  this  triangular  box  is  detachable  and 
is  taken  away  when  the  manure  is  to  be  removed.  This 
need  not  occur  until  the  box  is  full,  plaster  or  road 
dust  being  scattered  over  the  surface  every  morning, 
which  will  prevent  the  giving  off  of  ammonia  or  un- 
pleasant odors.  A  special  advantage  of  this  plan  is 
that  it  takes  no  floor  space  and  does  away  with  the  ne- 


CONVENIENT     ROOSTS  43 

cessity  of  removing  the  droppings  every  day,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  ordinary  platform  beneath  the  roosts. 

Roosts  for  Chickens — As  the  chickens  obtain  size, 
they  may  be  taught  to  go  to  roost  in  some  room  that  is 
not  occupied.  Here  they  will  be  always  under  cover 
and  safe  at  night  from  their  enemies.  Make  the  roost 
of  broad  strips  of  board,  to  prevent  crooked  breast 
bones,  and  to  reduce  the  risk  of  vermin  use  the  plan 
of  hanging  the  roosts  shown  in  Figure  53.  The  strips 
rest  on  horizontal  wires,  to  which  they  are  stapled  be- 
neath, and  are  held  firmly  up  by  wires  from  the  ceiling. 
Number  12  wire  is  stout  enough.  The  same  plan  may 
be  used  to  advantage  in  the  regular  poultry  house. 


CHAPTER  V 

DOORS    AND     WINDOWS 

A  poorly  made,  badly  hung  door  will  be  a  prime 
nuisance  so  long  as  it  lasts,  and  becomes  worse  year 
by  year.  The  doorpost  should  be  large  and  heavy  and 
well  braced  to  prevent  sagging.  If  set  in  the  ground 
it  should  reach  down  several  feet.  Leather  hinges 
should  not  be  used  even  for  a  slat  gate,  but  rather  the 


FIG  54:       COMBINATION  DOOR 

strap  iron  hinges,  which  are  not  costly  and  a  good 
supply  of  which   should  be  kept  on   hand. 

A  divided  door  for  a  poultry  house  appears  in 
Figure  54,  giving  a  combination  for  both  summer  and 
winter  use.  The  lower  half  has  laths  nailed  to  the 
inside  and  covering  the  space  filled  by  the  upper  half 


DOORS    AND    WINDOWS  45 

of  the  door.  The  latter  may  be  opened  in  summer  for 
ventilation.  When  shut  and  secured  by  the  button 
on  the  lower  half,  the  whole  becomes  a  solid  door. 
The  same  arrangement  will  also  be  found  useful  in 
ventilating  the  poultry  quarters  upon  warm  days  in 
winter.  Such  ventilation,  with  plenty  of  sunlight 
to  keep  the  place  warm,  and  litter  in  which  the  fowls 
must  scratch  for  food  so  as  to  get  exercise,  are  prime 
requisites  to  success  with  poultry  in  winter. 


77  /  /   M 

FIG  55  :       COMBINATION    DOOR 

Door  Between  Pens — Where  a  long  poultry  build- 
ing is  divided  into  a  number  of  pens  the  divisions 
must  be  boarded  at  the  bottom  to  prevent  the  fowls, 
particularly  the  males,  from  righting.  A  good  door 
for  such  a  division  is  shown  in  Figure  55.  It  is  made 
of  lath  in  the  ordinary  way,  but  has  the  laths  at  the 
lower  part  very  near  together,  the  spaces  growing 
more  open  as  they  go  up.  This  prevents  fighting, 
makes  a  handsome  gate  and  one  easily  constructed. 


40  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

Self-Opening  Door — Fix  the  coop  as  shown  in  the 
diagram  (Figure  56),  and  the  chicks  will  let  them- 
selves out  of  their  coops.  When  one  gets  upon  the 
board  with  grain  upon  it,  he  pulls  the  latch  open  over- 
head, and  the  door  in  front  falls.  Even  without  the 
grain,  chicks  will  open  the  door.  The  same  device  can 
be  used  for  hens  in  their  houses. 

Still  another  plan  to  avoid  early  rising  appears 
in  Figure  57.  Have  boards  fitted  to  slide  across  the 


FIGS  56 57  :      SELF-OPENING    DOORS 

doorway  of  the  chicken  quarters,  and  a  long  hook,  to 
keep  the  door  partly  open.  Put  in  one  board  at  first, 
and  teach  the  chicks  to  fly  up  over  it  at  night.  Then 
put  in  another  board,  and  presently  another.  Then 
animals  cannot  get  in  at  night,  while  the  chicks  can  go 
out  at  dawn.  By  varying  hight  of  board  the  device 
can  be  adapted  to  chickens  of  any  age. 

Good  Windows — Common  square  or  rectangular 
sashes  are  best  for  general  purposes,  and  they  can 


DOORS    AND     WINDOWS 


47 


usually  be  had  cheap  at  auction  sales  or  from  dis- 
mantled buildings.  These  windows  are,  of  course,  set 
vertically  into  the  wall,  as  they  will  not  shed  water  well 
if  set  at  much  of  a  slant.  Slanting  windows  must  be 
without  crossbars  and  the  ends  of  the  panes  must  over- 
lap, as  in  hotbed  sashes.  Slanting  windows  usually 
give  more  trouble  than  they  are  worth,  are  constantly 
leaking  or  breaking,  and  are  not  durable.  One  window 
to  a  pen  is  enough  and  each  one  should  be  made  easily 


FIG   58:       WARM     WINDOWS 

removable  in  summer.  The  space  may  be  protected 
with  wire  netting,  which  may  be  left  on  the  whole  year. 
If  new  glass  must  be  bought,  the  second  or  third  grades 
will  answer.  For  doing  a  cheap  job,  crossbars  are  not 
absolutely  needed,  as  if  the  panes  are  fitted  closely  and 
firmly  in  the  upright  bars,  the  ends  of  the  panes  may  be 
brought  together  without  a  bar  between.  Brads  may 
be  used  instead  of  putty  glazing.  A  window  thus 
made  is  a  cold  affair  and  is  not  desirable  for  severe 
climates. 


48 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 


Warm  Windows — Many  poultry  houses  have 
twice  the  glass  that  is  desirable.  The  houses  get  very 
warm  in  the  daytime  and  very  cold  at  night  in  winter. 
An  excellent  remedy  is  shown  in  Figure  58.  The  upper 
portion  of  each  sash  is  removed  and  a  solid  board  shut- 
ter substituted.  This  can  be  opened  during  the  warm 
part  of  each  day,  giving  the  fowls  outdoor  air  with 
indoor  scratching  opportunities.  Even  on  cold  days 
these  shutters  can  be  opened  for  a  half  hour,  to  thor- 


FIGS    59 60:       PROTECTED    WINDOWS 

oughly  air  the  building.  In  summer  the  shutters  can 
be  opened  a  little  way  and  fastened,  the  open  space 
being  slatted  to  prevent  the  fowls  from  going  out. 
This  will  keep  the  house  cool  at  that  season. 

Ordinary  windows  let  in  much  cold  about  their 
sides.  A  helpful  plan  is  to  screw  wide  pieces  of  board 
around  the  outside  of  the  sash,  allowing  the  strips  to 
project  two  or  more  inches  all  around  the  sash,  as 
shown  in  Figure  60.  Nail  strips  to  the  wall  around 
this  extended  sash  and  hinge  the  strips  to  the  exten- 


DOORS    AND    WINDOWS 


49 


sion  of  the  sash.  The  window  can  thus  be  opened 
readily,  but  when  closed  no  cracks  are  left  unstopped. 
With  sashes  hinged  in  this  way,  the  windows  of  poul- 
try houses  may  be  opened  during  the  warmer  and 
sunnier  portions  of  the  day,  giving  almost  the  same 
conditions  as  are  found  in  open  scratching  sheds,  but 
without  the  inconveniences  of  the  latter. 


FIG  6l  :      DOUBLE   WINDOWS 


No  farm  building  more  greatly  needs  double  win- 
dows in  winter  than  the  poultry  house,  but  there  is  the 
trouble  of  securing  proper  "airing  out"  of  the  house 
on  pleasant  days  in  winter,  where  double  windows  are 
used.  A  double  window  that  can  be  opened  and  then 
closed  tightly  against  the  entrance  of  wind  is  shown 
in  Figure  61.  The  top  and  bottom  are  fitted  to  pieces 
of  wood  of  such  shape  and  fitting  that  air  cannot  enter. 


5O  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

The  whole  is  then  hinged  and  swung  as  one  window. 
One  window  in  a  house  fitted  in  this  way,  with  the 
outside  door,  will  give  ample  opportunity  for  ventilat- 
ing the  house  every  sunny  morning.  The  rest  of  the 
windows  can  be  of  the  ordinary  double  pattern. 


CHAPTER  VI 

NESTING    CONTRIVANCES 

A  good  nest  is  both  safe  and  attractive.  It  should 
be  large  enough  so  that  two  hens  at  the  same  time  will 
not  break  eggs.  It  should  be  low  at  one  side  so  that 
hens  need  not  jump  down  upon  the  eggs.  It  should 
have  a  cover  for  seclusion  and  to  keep  idle  fowls  from 
roosting  on  the  edge.  The  opening  should  face  away 
from  the  light,  as  darkness  discourages  egg-eating  and 
other  forms  of  interference  on  the  part  of  mischief 
makers.  For  similar  reasons  the  box  should  be  about 
two  and  one-half  feet  above  the  floor.  An  alighting 
board  in  front  of  the  entrance  will  afford  the  layer  a 
chance  to  enter  carefully,  as  her  instinct  teaches.  The 
nest  filling  should  be  renewed  twice  a  year,  and  also 
whenever  used  several  weeks  by  a  sitter.  The  filling 
should  be  abundant  enough  to  prevent  breakage  and 
should  be  free  from  coarse  or  thorny  material.  The 
presence  of  a  nest  egg  will  usually  prevent  scratching, 
but  if  very  young  birds  are  there,  they  may  pull  the  hay 
about  somewhat.  In  such  cases  a  filling  of  shavings  or 
excelsior  may  be  used,  and  care  should  be  taken  not 
to  drop  grain  into  the  nests.  Nests  should  be  numer- 
ous and  all  about  alike,  so  that  none  will  be  over- 
crowded. If  raised  well  above  the  floor  the  space  they 
occupy  will  not  be  missed.  Every  box  should  be  ar- 
ranged for  easy  and  quick  removal  when  desired. 

A  very  simple  nest  and  easily  made,  is  de- 
scribed by  A.  B.  Hewitt,  who  writes:  "I  make  them 
of  old  soap,  candle  or  starch  boxes.  Take  the  box 


52  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

with  the  lid  nailed  on  and  four  inches  from  one  end 
rule  a  line  as  shown  by  the  dotted  line  in  the  first  illus- 
tration in  Figure  62.  Then  mark  the  other  end  of 
the  box  on  the  opposite  sides  in  the  same  way,  also 
shown  by  the  dotted  line.  Now  saw  the  box  where 
these  lines  are,  and  it  will  make  two  nests  like  the  one 
shown  in  the  second  half  of  the  figure.  Nail  a  cleat 
of  one-inch  stuff  just  at  the  top,  and  inside  of  the  high 
sides  of  the*  box.  This  cleat  makes  a  convenient  han- 


FIG   62  I      PLAIN    NEST    BOXES 


die,  and  at  the  same  time  strengthens  the  box.  The 
nests  should  be  placed  beneath  the  droppings  board  with 
the  high  sides  next  to  the  entrance  of  the  pen  or  hen- 
house. By  tarring  all  the  joints  or  painting  them  with 
a  solution  of  carbolic  acid,  they  are  easily  kept  free 
from  vermin.  They  will  be  found  much  better  than  a 
long  box,  as  one  can  be  removed  at  any  time  for  set- 
ting a  hen  in  another  part  of  the  building.  I  never 
have  any  trouble  from  the  hens  flying  off  their  nests 


NESTING    CONTRIVANCES 


53 


upon  my  approach.     The  boxes  should  be  bought  for 
from  eight  to  ten  cents  each." 

The  cuts  in  Figure  63  show  how  a  contrivance  can 
be  made  for  laying  hens  which  will  keep  out  hogs, 
dogs,  or  any  animals  liable  to  destroy  the  eggs.  The 
framework  is  two  by  three  scantling.  Then  ordinary 
boards  are  used  for  the  sides  and  roof.  The  hens  go  in 
at  the  entrance  and  pass  around  either  end  of  a,  gain- 
ing access  to  the  nests.  A  little  door,  b,  at  the  end, 
shown  in  the  right-hand  cut,  closed,  by  means  of  a  hasp, 
permits  entrance  for  the  removal  of  the  eggs.  This 


FIG  63  :       SECURE  NEST  BOX 

little  nesting  place  can  be  moved  to  any  convenient  part 
of  the  yard  and  the  eggs  deposited  there  are  secure. 
The  hens  will  soon  learn  to  go  to  it.  The  material  re- 
quired is  eight  pieces  of  one  by  twelve  inches  eight  feet 
long,  two  pieces  of  one  by  fourteen  inches  three  feet 
long,  two  pieces  of  two  by  three  inches  three  feet  long, 
eight  pieces  of  one  by  twelve  inches  twelve  feet  long, 
two  pieces  of  one  by  three  inches  eight  feet  long,  and 
one  piece  of  one  by  ten  inches  six  feet  long,  with  two 
pounds  of  eightpenny  nails. 

Open-work  nests,  as  in  Figure  64,  at  the  left  of 
the  illustration,  are  easily  kept  clean  and  free  from 


54 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 


lice.  They  may  be  bought  ready-made,  or  may  be 
woven  from  old  bale  hay  wire  or  from  willow  wands. 
A  thorough  singeing  or  scalding  will  renovate  the  nest 
at  any  time.  The  nest  should  have  a  wooden  edge- 
piece  for  the  hen  to  alight  on,  and  a  large  card  for 
dates  of  sitters  is  a  convenience. 

A  plan  for  transferring  sitters  is  shown  at  the 
right  of  Figure  64.  The  nest  boxes,  b,  d,  are  placed 
on  a  board  platform,  e,  extending  through  the  partition 
between  a  room  for  layers  and  another  for  the  sitters. 


FIG   64:       THREE   USEFUL   NEST   IDEAS 

When  a  hen  is  to  be  set,  the  box  with  hen  and  eggs 
is  simply  pushed  through  the  partition. 

Prevents  Dirty  Nests — Fowls  can  be  prevented 
from  roosting  on  the  edge  of  their  nest  boxes  by  plac- 
ing a  two-inch  roller  at  the  front  of  the  boxes,  as 
shown  in  Figure  64,  1  1  1.  The  roller  revolves  easily 
upon  a  wooden  pin  at  each  end.  The  sides  of  the  boxes 
are  made  slanting  for  the  same  reason. 

A  New  Nesting  Arrangement — To  make  dark 
nests  inside  a  henhouse  is  a  matter  involving  not  a 


NESTING     CONTRIVANCES 


55 


little  work.  And  even  then  the  nests  often  prove 
a  nuisance,  since  the  fowls  roost  on  them  and  soil 
them  constantly.  A  handy  contrivance  for  securing 
dark  nests  is  shown  in  Figure  65.  Where  the  fowl- 
house  is  inside  another  building,  or  has  a  hallway,  this 
plan  can  be  easily  and  conveniently  used.  Long  boxes 
are  used  for  the  nests,  each  having  a  partition  across 
the  middle  with  a  round  opening  through  it  large 
enough  for  a  hen  to  pass  through.  Two  other  round 
openings  for  each  nest  are  made.  One  in  the  outside 


FIG    65  :      GOOD     NESTING    ARRANGEMENTS 

of  the  box,  as  shown,  another  in  the  partition  of  the 
henpen.  Place  the  box  against  the  outside  of  the  parti- 
tion so  that  -the  two  openings  will  come  together,  when 
the  hen  can  enter  and  pass  around  into  the  dark  nest. 
A  hinged  cover  gives  access  to  the  eggs. 

Homemade  Recording  Nest  Box — One  of  the  best 
non-patented  devices  for  keeping  egg  records  is  that 
used  at  the  Maine  experiment  station  and  illustrated 
herewith  (  Figure  66 ).  In  the  drawing  are  shown  two 
of  the  completed  nests  from  side  to  side,  one  of  them 
closed  after  the  entrance  of  a  hen  and  the  other  re- 


50  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

opened  for  the  entrance  of  another  layer.  After  each 
hen  has  laid,  the  attendant  removes  her,  and  each  hen 
has  a  band  with  a  number  attached  to  her  leg  and  the 
eggs  may  be  numbered  to  correspond.  This  process 
is  gone  through  in  the  attempt  to  pick  out  the  best 
layers  to  keep  over  for  breeders  and  the  experiment 
station  hopes  to  establish  a  strain  of  wonderful  layers. 


FIG   66:       TRAP    NEST    BOXES 

For  those  who  wish  to  make  their  own  boxes, 
the  following  directions  are  supplied  by  Professor 
Gowell  of  the  Maine  station: 

It  is  a  box-like  structure,  without  front  end  or 
cover,  twenty-eight  inches  long,  thirteen  inches  wide 
and  thirteen  inches  dee-  inside  measurements.  A 


NESTING     CONTRIVANCES 


57 


division  board  with  a  circular  opening"  seven  and  one- 
half  inches  in  diameter  is  placed  across  the  box  twelve 
inches  from  the  back  end  and  fifteen  inches  from  the 
front  end.  The  back  section  is  the  nest  proper.  In- 
stead of  a  close  door  at  the  entrance,  a  light  frame  is 
covered  with  wire  netting.  The  door  is  ten  and  one- 
half  inches  wide  and  ten  inches  high  and  does  not  fill 
the  entire  entrance,  a  good  margin  being  left  all  round 
to  avoid  friction.  It  is  hinged  at  the  top  and  opens 
up  into  the  box.  The  hinges  are  placed  on  the  front 
of  the  door. 


FIG   67  :       ROOST    PROTECTED    BY    NEST 


The  trip  consists  of  one  piece  of  stiff  wire  about 
three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  eighteen 
and  one-half  inches  long,  bent  as  shown.  A  piece  of 
board  six  inches  wide  and  just  long  enough  to  reach 
across  the  box  inside  is  nailed  flatwise  in  front  of  the 
partition  and  one  inch  below  the  top  of  the  box,  a  space 
of  one-fourth  of  an  inch  being  left  between  the  edge  of 
the  board  and  the  partition.  The  purpose  of  this  board 
is  only  to  support  the  trip  wire  in  place.  The  six-inch 
section  of  the  trip  wire  is  placed  across  the  board  and 
the  long  part  of  the  wire  slipped  through  the  one- 
fourth-inch  slot  and  massed  down  close  to  and  in  front 


58  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

of  the  center  of  the  seven  and  one-half-inch  circular 
opening.  Small  wire  staples  are  driven  nearly  down 
over  the  six-inch  section  of  the  trip  wire  into  the  board 
so  as  to  hold  it  in  place  and  yet  let  it  roll  sidewise  easily. 


FIG  68  :       NEST  FROM  A  CANDY  PAIL 

When  the  door  is  set,  a  section  of  the  wire  comes 
under  a  hardwood  peg  or  tack  in  the  lower  edge  of  the 
door  frame.  The  hen  passes  in  through  the  circular 
opening,  and  in  doing  so  presses  the  wire  to  one  side, 
which  lets  the  door  down  and  fastens  itself  by  a  wooden 


NESTING    CONTRIVANCES 


59 


latch  or  lever.  The  latch  is  five  inches  long,  one  inch 
wide  and  one-half  inch  thick,  and  is  fastened  loosely 
one  inch  from  its  center  to  the  side  of  the  box,  so  that 
the  outer  end  is  just  inside  of  the  door  when  it  is 
closed.  Pieces  of  old  rubber  belting  are  nailed  at  the 
outside  entrance  for  the  door  to  strike  against. 

Roosting  and  Nesting  Device — Figure  67  shows  a 
very  excellent  roosting  and  nesting  device  that  has 
done  duty  in  the  cold  of  a  Maine  winter.  It  is  in  use 
for  a  small  pen  of  Leghorns — a  breed  that  must  be 


FIG  69  :       NESTS   FOR  DUCKS 

kept  warm  at  night,  if  eggs  are  to  be  had  at  this  season 
of  the  year.  The  roost  is  put  across  the  corner  of  the 
pen  and  a  piece  of  burlap  is  stretched  before  it.  A  few 
crosspieces  are  laid  across  the  corner  at  the  curtain's 
upper  edge,  and  on  these  is  piled  a  lot  of  waste  hay, 
making  a  very  warm  roosting  place.  The  Leghorns 
delight  to  fly  up  on  this  hay  and  lay  their  eggs  under 
the  impression  that  they  are  stealing  away  their  nests. 
Humoring  a  Leghorn  in  this  way  is  conducive  to  lay- 
ing, and  the  eggs  can  easily  be  reached.  As  the  whole 
thing  can  be  put  up  in  five  minutes'  time,  there  is  no 
excuse  for  frosted  combs  on  the  Leghorns. 


6O  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

At  stores  where  candy  is  sold,  one  can  buy  for  a 
few  cents  the  light,  but  large,  wooden  pails  in  which 
broken  candy  and  certain  grades  of  chocolates  are 
shipped  from  the  factory.  These  pails  make  excellent 
hens'  nests  when  hung  from  two  hooks  in  the  manner 
shown  in  Figure  68.  The  weak  point  of  this  nest  and 
several  others  described  is  that  no  alighting  board  is 
provided  and  no  shelter  to  keep  fowls  off  the  edge. 
These  improvements,  however,  can  be  added.  Such 
nests  can  be  taken  out  of  doors,  emptied  and  cleaned  in 
a  moment,  and  having  no  corners  or  open  joints,  as  do 
boxes,  there  is  no  place  for  vermin  to  hide  about  them. 
This  is  a  special  point  in  favor  of  the  use  of  such  pails 
as  nests,  for  the  ordinary  nest  is  usually  a  breeding 
place  for  these  troublesome  pests. 

Nests  for  Ducks — Some  duck  raisers  use  a  plain 
nest,  as  shown  in  Figure  69.  These  nests  are  made  of 
one-inch  boards,  twelve  inches  high  and  sixteen  inches 
long,  set  fourteen  inches  apart,  and  held  together  in 
front  with  a  three-inch  strip.  The  nests  are  nailed  to 
the  back  of  the  house. 


CHAPTER  VII 

HELPS     IN     HATCHING     SEASON 

No  doubt  but  that  a  good  operator  can  hatch  per- 
fect chicks  by  incubator  and  keep  up  the  vigor  and 
excellence  of  his  stock  year  after  year  without  using  a 
single  sitting  hen,  but  complete  success  requires  care 
and  experience.  Very  complete  manuals  on  the  sub- 
ject may  be  had  free  by  writing  to  those  who  advertise 
the  machines.  Of  late  years  many  very  practical  incu- 
bators have  been  placed  on  the  market,  while  the  older 
makes  have  been  greatly  improved,  especially  in  regard 
to  heat  regulation.  The  incubator  catalogs  contain 
plenty  of  testimonials,  and  by  writing  to  some  of  the 
more  prominent  of  these,  the  intending  buyer  may  soon 
decide  which  machine  is  best  suited  to  his  taste  and 
conditions. 

While  there  are  still  many  points  of  difference 
between  manufacturers  as  to  hot  air  or  hot  water  heat, 
moisture  or  no  moisture,  cooling  and  ventilation,  yet 
most  of  the  incubators  now  on  the  market  will  hatch 
eggs  satisfactorily  in  the  hands  of  a  careful  operator. 
By  the  use  of  common  sense  and  following  the  instruc- 
tions laid  down  by  the  makers,  even  a  beginner  can 
expect  good  hatches  from  fertile  eggs.  With  experi- 
ence, hatches  of  seventy-five  to  ninety  per  cent  of  fer- 
tile eggs  are  commonly  obtained. 

Incubators  vary  in  capacity  from  fifty  to  four  hun- 
dred eggs.  One  size  is  as  easy  to  run  as  another.  For 
the  practical  farmer  a  machine  of  one  hundred,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred-egg  capacity  is  the 


62  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

best  size.    Three  hatches  in  a  season  will,  with  average 
success,  give  as  many  chickens  as  ordinarily  wanted. 

Something  depends  on  the  machine,  but  more  on 
the  operator,  and  most  of  all  on  the  eggs.  Any  ma- 
chine that  will  keep  even  heat  can  be  made  to  hatch 
successfully.  If  the  temperature  is  kept  at  one  hun- 
dred and  two  or  one  hundred  and  three  degrees,  if 
ventilation  is  reasonably  good,  if  eggs  are  all  of  the 
same  kind  of  shell  so  that  the  air  will  enlarge  at  the 
same  rate,  and  if  the  air  cell  is  watched  and  by  ven- 
tilation or  moistening,  if  necessary,  made  to  cor- 
respond with  the  air-cell  charts  furnished  with  the 
machine,  the  eggs  having  also  been  turned  as  directed, 
then  a  poor  hatch  is  almost  surely  the  fault  of  the  eggs. 

Early  in  the  season  eggs  are  less  likely  to  be  fer- 
tile. Very  late  in  the  season  many  are  infertile,  and 
the  germs  are  feeble,  causing  many  to  die  in  the  shell. 
Eggs  with  thick,  dark  shells  are  harder  to  hatch  than 
others,  and  many  germs  die  in  the  shell  or  turn  out 
feeble  chicks.  Eggs  should  be  of  about  the  same  age, 
should  not  be  kept  over  two  weeks  before  starting  and 
must  all  be  put  into  machine  at  same  time.  Extremely 
large  eggs  and  long  slender  ones  do  not  hatch  well. 

Better  operate  the  machine  empty  a  few  days  at 
beginning  of  each  season.  Fill  the  lamp  every  morning 
and  trim  the  wick  by  scraping  off  the  top.  Have  a 
new  wick  for  every  hatch  and  use  good  oil.  If  acci- 
dents happen  and  temperature  goes  above  one  hundred 
and  five,  chicks  will  be  somewhat  injured.  Even  one 
hundred  and  ten  for  a  few  hours  does  not  necessarily 
kill,  but  most  of  the  chicks  will  be  weakened.  Eggs 
should  be  sprinkled  and  cooled  at  once  after  having 
been  much  overheated. 

In  five  days  from  the  start,  test  the  eggs,  take  out 
those  that  are  not  fertile,  mark  doubtful  ones,  putting 
them  back  to  be  inspected  ten  days  later.  Give  no 


HELPS    IN     HATCHING    SEASON  63 

/ 

moisture  the  first  week,  very  little  the  second  and  a 
great  deal  the  latter  part  of  the  last  week.  But  follow 
the  directions  from  the  manufacturer  as  to  moisture 
and  depend  more  upon  the  size  of  the  egg  air  cell  than 
upon  any  set  rule.  Turn  the  eggs  at  intervals  of  twelve 
hours  and  change  the  position  of  the  drawers  each  time. 
Drawers  that  are  nearest  the  lamp  should  be  placed 
furthest  away  once  in  twenty-four  hours,  the  front 
end  of  the  drawer  being  turned  to  the  back  of  the 
machine.  When  the  eggs  begin  to  pip  do  not  disturb 
the  hatch  till  it  is  well  through,  as  taking  out  moist 
chickens  from  the  machine  lowers  the  temperature, 
lessens  the  degree  of  moisture  and  impairs  the  hatch 
of  the  remainder. 

A  well-known  Illinois  poultryman,  Fred  Grundy, 
was  asked  to  give  some  elementary  incubator  advice. 
He  wrote  as  follows : 

"Practice  with  the  machine  until  you  can  run  it 
steadily  day  and  night  without  any  change  in  the  tem- 
perature of  the  egg  chamber.  You  should  be  able  to 
do  this  in  a  week.  Then  put  in  the  eggs.  This  will 
lower  the  temperature  of  the  egg  chamber  very  much 
unless  the  eggs  are  first  warmed.  I  prefer  warming 
nicely  before  putting  in.  Very  early  in  the  morning  is 
the  best  time  for  starting,  for  the  thermometer  can  be 
looked  at  at  least  once  each  hour  until  ten  o'clock  the 
following  night.  If  it  remains  steady  everything  is 
right.  At  the  end  of  ten  days  you  may  test  out  the 
infertile  eggs,  and  put  in  one  pan  of  lukewarm  water 
for  moisture.  Repeated  experiments  have  thoroughly 
satisfied  me  that  each  hatching  should  be  placed  in  the 
machine  at  one  time,  and  no  eggs  added  thereafter 
even  if  two-thirds  are  tested  out  as  infertile. 

"At  the  end  of  two  weeks  the  heat  of  the  hatching 
eggs  will  be  such  that  you  must  watch  closely  lest  the 
temperature  rise  too  high.  Be  sure  that  it  never  goes 


64 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 


above  one  hundred  and  three  degrees.  If  there  must 
be  a  variation,  ninety-five  degrees  is  far  better  than  one 
hundred  and  five.  If  the  air  in  the  room  is  constantly 
warm  and  dry,  place  a  second  pan  of  lukewarm  water 
in  the  machine  at  the  end  of  the  second  wreek.  If  the 
room  is  in  a  cellar  and  moisture  shows  on  the  windows, 
one  pan  of  water  under  the  eggs  is  quite  sufficient. 

"When  the  eggs  begin  to  hatch  don't  open  the  door 
for  love  or  money.  Have  the  thermometer  fastened  so 
the  chicks  cannot  knock  it  over  and  see  that  the  tem- 
perature does  not  rise  above  one  hundred  and  three. 
Don't  remove  the  chicks  from  the  chamber  until  they 


FIG   70:       PLAN    FOR   HOMEMADE   INCUBATOR 

have  been  hatched  at  least  twenty  hours ;  then  quickly 
place  them  in  a  brooder  heated  to  one  hundred.  When 
you  buy  an  incubator  see  that  the  egg  tray  fits  the 
chamber,  so  that  newly  hatched  chicks  cannot  possibly 
fall  over  its  edges  into  the  moisture  pans  below." 

How  to  Make  an  Incubator — Scores  of  machines 
have  been  made  according  to  the  following  description, 
and  good  success  in  hatching  has  resulted.  This  incu- 
bator requires  closer  or  more  frequent  attention  than 
do  machines  with  a  more  elaborate  system  of  heat 
regulation,  but  with  care  and  experience  first-rate 
hatches  may  be  obtained. 


HELPS     IN     HATCHING    SEASON  65 

Figure  70  gives  a  general  idea  of  what  is  to  be 
made.  A  side  sectional  view  showing  the  internal  ar- 
rangement and  construction  is  shown  in  Figure  71. 
The  egg  drawer  is  at  e,  the  heater  box  at  h,  the  sawdust 


L 


FIG  71  :       SECTION  PLAN  OF  INCUBATOR 

filling  to  retain  heat  at  ^  s  s  and  the  ventilator  box  is  at 
b,  filled  with  sawdust  up  to  the  dotted  line. 

Use  well-seasoned  matched  pine  boards  one  inch 
in  thickness  for  all  parts  except  the  sides  and  ends  of 
the  egg  drawer,  which  should  be  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
heavier. 


FIG  72  :       INCUBATOR  DRAWER  AND  HEATER 

The  heater  is  made  first  and  is  shown  at  a  in  Fig- 
ure 72.  It  is  three  feet  by  four  feet  and  six  inches 
high.  It  takes  two  boards  six  inches  wide  and  four 
feet  long  for  the  sides ;  and  two  boards  six  inches  wide 
and  two  feet  ten  inches  long  for  the  front  and  back ; 
the  top,  being  made  of  matched  boards  nailed  on  very 


66 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 


tightly,  has  eight  holes  bored  in  it.  The  center  holes 
are  for  a  three-eighths-inch  bolt  seven  inches  long,  with 
a  large  flat  head  on  one  end  and  a  thumbscrew  on  the 
other.  The  other  holes  are  for  six  escape  pipes,  which 
are  fifteen  inches  long  and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  Bore  three  holes  on  each  side  three  inches 
from  the  outside  edges  of  the  sides  ;  the  first  three 
inches  from  the  corner,  the  second  fifteen  inches  from 
the  corner,  the  third  twenty-seven  inches  from  the  cor- 
ner, as  shown  in  Figure  72,  a. 


' 

-1 

' 

O           C         0 

O           O          0 

o        o        O 

X 

X 

FIG    73  :       VENTILATOR    BOX    FOR    INCUBATOR 

Now  cut  two  holes,  eight  inches  from  opposite 
corners  (one  is  shown  in  the  drawing),  in  the  center 
of  the  sides  and  four  inches  in  diameter ;  and  over  both 
the  inside  and  outside  tack  stout  pieces  of  tin  contain- 
ing round  holes  two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter. 
These  holes  are  for  the  lamp  pipes,  and  the  tin  protects 
the  wood  from  fire.  Directly  under  each  of  these  holes 
inside,  nail  a  piece  of  tin  a  foot  square,  putting  it  half 
an  inch  from  the  bottom,  bending  down  the  two  cor- 
ners not  nailed  half  an  inch.  When  the  zinc  is  nailed 


HELPS    IN    HATCHING    SEASON  67 

on,  this  will  make  two  thicknesses,  with  half  an  inch 
air  space,  and  will  prevent  overheating  below  the  lamp 
pipes.  Use  stout  zinc  for  covering  the  bottom,  with  a 
hole  for  the  bolt  in  the  center  of  it.  Nail  it  on  with 
double  rows  of  lath  nails,  about  an  inch  apart,  and  it 
will  be  air  tight.  Put  the  bolt  in  and  tighten  up  the 
thumbscrew. 

The  drawer,  Figure  72,  b,  is  five  inches  deep  in 
front,  four  feet  nine  inches  long,  and  two  feet  eleven 
and  one-half  wide.  After  saving  a  space  in  front  eight 
inches  wide  for  sawdust,  take  a  piece  of  heavy,  coarse 
muslin  or  tow  and  stretch  tightly  over  the  bottom  and 
fasten  with  tacks.  Nail  a  board  nine  inches  wide  under 
the  front  space  for  sawdust,  but  cover  the  other  parts 
with  slats  one  inch  square,  nailing  them  on  crosswise 
through  the  tow,  and  place  them  about  an  inch  apart. 

A  very  convenient  and  complete  egg  turner  may 
be  made  by  making  a  frame  with  beveled  cross-slats. 
This  should  be  three  inches  shorter  than  the  inside 
measurement  of  the  drawer,  and  just  wide  enough  to 
slide  nicely.  The  sides  of  the  frame  should  be  seven- 
eighths  by  three-eighths  of  an  inch ;  the  ends,  seven- 
eighths  square.  The  slats  are  seven-eighths  of  an  inch 
high  and  one-half  an  inch  across  the  bottom,  and  are 
one  and  seven-eighths  inches  apart  at  the  top.  It  is 
well  to  put  the  slats  two  inches  apart  for  extra  large 
eggs  or  duck  or  turkey  eggs.  By  moving  or  sliding 
this  frame  back  and  forth,  the  eggs  turn  very  nicely. 

The  ventilator  box,  with  the  bottom  of  the  incu- 
bator, is  represented  standing  upright  in  Figure  73. 
The  box  proper  is  three  by  four  feet,  the  same  as  the 
heater,  but  eight  inches  high.  By  noticing  the  draw- 
ing, it  will  be  perceived  that  the  bottom  of  the  incu- 
bator is  eight  inches  larger  every  way  than  the 
ventilator  box,  and  that  the  same  matched  boards 
answer  for  both.  The  twelve  half-inch  holes  are  for 


68  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

twelve  tin  pipes  to  furnish  ventilation  from  below. 
These  pipes  are  eight  inches  long.  The  sides  of  the 
ventilator  box  extend  out  even  with  the  bottom  of 
the  incubator  for  the  drawer  to  slide  on. 

Having  made  this,  place  the  drawer  on  it,  and 
the  heater  on  the  drawer,  and  fasten  the  heater  and 
ventilator  together  with  boards  nailed  on  the  sides 
and  back.  The  boards  should  be  one  foot  wide,  and 
be  nailed  so  as  to  allow  the  drawer  to  work  nicely 
between  the  heater  and  ventilator.  These  boards  on 
the  sides  must  project  the  same  at  the  front  as  do  the 
sides  of  the  ventilator.  Next  fit  an  eight-inch  board 
over  the  front  of  the  drawer,  keeping  it  level  with  the 
zinc.  This  keeps  the  sawdust  from  falling  into 
the  drawer. 

Now  with  the  bottom  as  a  guide,  build  the  outer 
box  for  sawdust,  making  it  nine  inches  higher  than 
the  top  of  the  heater,  and  taking  care  to  fit  the  front 
boards  around  the  end  of  the  drawer  nicely.  To 
allow  the  lamp  pipes  to  enter,  cut  holes  in  the  outer 
box  the  same  as  was  done  in  the  heater,  but  using  tins 
on  the  outside  only.  Where  the  lamp  pipes  pass 
through  the  sawdust,  a  box  for  sand  must  be  made 
of  sufficient  size  to  properly  protect  the  sawdust.  The 
tinsmith  must  make  the  lamp  and  escape  pipes  as 
stovepipe  is  made,  but  the  ventilator  pipes  may  be 
soldered,  as  they  are  in  no  danger  of  melting.  The 
escape  pipes  must  be  cut  off  so  as  to  come  to  a  point, 
so  that  when  they  are  pushed  down  and  touch  the 
zinc,  only  a  small  draft  is  allowed,  and  the  draft  cannot 
become  closed. 

The  lamp  pipes  should  be  two  and  one-half  inches 
in  diameter,  with  elbows  in  them  allowing  the  pipes 
to  extend  into  the  heater  three  inches  at  one  end,  and 
at  the  other  end  to  fit  a  tin  lamp  chimney  with  an 
isinglass  window  in  it  one  inch  in  diameter.  This 


HELPS    IN     HATCHING    SEASON  69 

isinglass  window  is  to  see  the  flame  of  the  lamp  and 
should  be  cut  where  the  flame  can  be  readily  seen.  A 
large  fount  lamp  with  a  Number  2  burner  is  placed 
on  a  slide  that  can  be  pushed  under  the  incubator  (as 
shown  in  Figure  70),  when  removed  for  trimming. 

The  legs  hold  up  the  drawer  when  drawn  out, 
and t the  handle  is  merely  a  crosspiece  fastened  to 
them. '  The  legs  extend  three  inches  below  the  bottom 
of  the  incubator,  and  they  just  clear  the  floor  when 
the  incubator  is  placed  on  two  pieces  of  scantling  to 
allow  air  to  pass  up  through  the  pipes  in  the  ven- 
tilator box. 

After  setting  the  incubator  in  the  place  where  it 
is  to  be  used,  put  sand  into  the  boxes  around  the  lamp 
pipes,  and  put  sawdust  in  the  ventilator  box  up  to 
within  one  inch  of  the  top  of  the  pipes;  also  in  front 
of  the  drawer  and  all  around  the  sides,  and  on  top  of 
the  heater  up  to  within  an  inch  of  the  top  of  the  escape 
pipes,  being  careful  not  to  allow  any  sawdust  to  get  in 
the  pipes.  Cover  the  sawdust  with  paper,  allowing 
the  pipes  to  be  open. 

You  are  now  ready  to  light  the  lamps.  Use  head- 
light oil  (one  hundred  and  fifty  degrees  test),  keep  the 
lamps  at  a  medium  hight,  and  in  a  few  days  you  will 
have  the  incubator  thoroughly  heated.  By  observing 
the  two  good  thermometers  in  the  front  and  back  ends 
of  the  drawer,  you  can  easily  keep  the  temperature  at 
one  hundred  and  three  degrees  by  turning  the  lamp 
screws  up  or  down.  When  you  have  the  machine 
under  proper  control,  put  the  eggs  in,  and  in  about 
twelve  hours  they  will  be  warm  enough  without  turn- 
ing up  the  lamps,  and  they  will  remain  so  unless  the 
lamps  are  changed  when  filled  and  trimmed. 

By  trimming  every  other  day,  and  filling  daily, 
the  temperature  can  easily  be  kept  uniform  by  looking 
at  the  thermometers  every  six  hours  and  turning  the 


7O  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

lamps  up  or  down.  From  one  hundred  and  two 
degrees  to  one  hundred  and  five  degrees  is  the  proper 
temperature.  Good,  reliable  thermometers  must  be 
used  and  the  bulbs  should  rest  on  eggs  with  the  tops 
slightly  elevated. 

Egg  Tester — Figure  74  represents  a  contrivance 
for  testing  the  freshness  or  fertility  of  eggs,  useful  in 


FIG  74  :      EGG  TESTER 

the  household  or  to  the  poultry  fancier.  It  consists 
of  a  small  handle,  with  a  cup  in  the  end  of  it;  around 
the  cup  is  fastened  a  frame  of  sheet  tin  or  stiff  card- 
board. This  frame  has  a  hole  in  the  center,  of  the 
shape  and  size  of  an  egg,  and  a  strip  of  black  ribbon 
or  cloth  is  fastened  around  the  frame,  projecting  a 
little  beyond  the  inner  edge.  To  test  the  egg,  it  is 
placed  in  the  cup,  so  as  to  fill  the  space  in  the  center 


HELPS    IN     HATCHING    SEASON  Jl 

of  the  frame,  the  edge  of  the  black  cloth  or  ribbon 
fitting  close  to  the  shell.  When  the  egg  is  held  close 
to  a  bright  light,  the  light  passes  through  the  egg,  and 
shows  a  fresh  or  infertile  one  to  be  perfectly  clear, 
while  a  fertile  one  that  has  been  sat  upon,  or  that  has 
been  in  the  incubator  two  days,  will  show  the  embryo, 
as  in  the  engraving,  as  a  dark  cloudy  spot. 

Handling  Eggs — They  should  be  picked  up  twice 
a  day  in  summer  at  least,  and  it  is  better  to  keep  up 
the  practice  all  the  year  round.  They  should  be  care- 
fully assorted,  putting  in  one  class  only  large,  clean- 


FIG   75  :      EGG   CABINET 

shelled  eggs.  Into  the  other  basket  should  go  all  the 
very  small  ones,  all  the  thin-shelled  ones,  all  the  poor- 
shaped  ones,  all  with  discolored  shells.  Some  of  the 
dirty  ones  may  very  likely  be  carefully  washed  and  put 
with  those  of  the  best  grade.  For  a  grade  of  eggs 
selected  like  these  and  always  to  be  depended  upon, 
there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  rinding  a  regular  mar- 
ket at  several  cents  per  dozen  above  the  average  price. 
The  few  culls  that  remain  can  be  sold  to  boarding 
houses  or  bakeshops,  if  offered  in  a  strictly  fresh  state. 


72  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

Eggs  for  hatching  may  be  kept  three  or  four 
weeks  if  properly  stored.  Figure  75  shows  a  cabinet 
for  the  purpose.  The  drawers  are  fitted  with  the 
pasteboard  fillers  from  old  egg  cases,  which  may  be 
bought  for  a  few  cents  at  the  grocery  stores.  Turning 
the  eggs  is  not  essential  if  they  are  to  be  set  within 


FIG    76:       EGG    CASE 

two  weeks.  For  turning,  a  lath  cover  must  be  made 
for  each  drawer  so  that  drawer  and  eggs  may  be 
turned  in  one  movement  and  replaced  with  the  cover 
beneath.  At  next  turning  the  whole  is  reversed.  The 
drawers  must  be  so  planned  to  allow  for  cover  if 
turning  the  eggs  by  rapid  process  is  to  be  practiced. 


FIG   77:      EGG   CARRIER 

Another  plan  for  keeping  choice  eggs  is  shown  in 
Figure  76.  The  eggs  if  kept  long  should  be  turned  at 
least  every  other  day,  to  keep  them  in  good  condition, 
and  this  is  lots  of  work  if  done  egg  by  egg.  Make 
a  box  just  shoal  enough  to  hold  one  section  of  paste- 
board fillers.  Lay  some  soft  papers  beneath  the  fillers 


HELPS     IN     HATCHING    SEASON 


73 


and  tack  others  (or  a  sheet  of  corrugated  paper)  to 
the  under  side  of  the  lid.  The  whole  box  can  then  be 
gently  turned  over  with  one  motion,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  turned  back  again.  Shoal  pasteboard  boxes  that 
would  answer  the  purpose  can  often  be  obtained  at 
dry  goods  stores. 

Carrying  and  Shipping — Before  shipping  eggs  for 
hatching,  the  first  thing  to  decide  upon  is  a  method 


JULLL.U 


FIG  78  :       EGG  SHIPPING  CASE 


of  packing,  so  that  they  are  likely  to  reach  their  des- 
tination in  safety.  There  have  been  many  forms  of 
packages  devised  for  transporting  eggs,  but  the  old- 
fashioned  basket  method  is  about  the  best  of  all.  The 
small,  flat-bottomed  fruit  basket  can  be  purchased 
cheaply,  and  being  light  and  conveniently  handled  is 
not  so  likely  to  be  knocked  around  as  a  box  would  be; 
rough  handling  is  apt  to  kill  the  germ  or  prove 


74  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

detrimental  to  its  keeping.  The  bottom  of  the  basket 
should  be  lined  with  dry,  soft  hay,  and  each  egg 
wrapped  separately  in  paper  and  placed  in  the  basket 
with  the  large  end  downward,  so  that  they  will  not 
quite  touch;  fill  in  chaff  or  dry  sawdust  between  each 
egg,  then  cover  with  another  layer  of  hay;  over  all  lay 
smoothly  a  stout  piece  of  muslin  the  size  of  the  top 
of  the  basket  and  sew  on  with  strong  twine,  drawing 
firmly  to  prevent  eggs  moving  about.  Packed  in  this 
manner  eggs  may  be  sent  long  distances  without  being 
shaken  sufficiently  to  injure  their  fertility. 

When  a  basket  of  eggs  is  to  be  carried  over  a 
rough  road,  either  the  horse  must  be  made  to  walk  all 
the  way,  or  broken  eggs  be  carried  back.  Saw  off  the 
bottom  of  an  empty  grocery  box  and  mount  it  above 
its  cover  by  four  small  springs  from  the  upholsterer's, 
or  from  a  worn-out  chair  or  couch.  Set  the  basket 
of  eggs  in  this  (Figure  77)  and  it  will  ride  safely  over 
rough  roads  with  the  horse  at  a  trot. 

For  shipping  in  large  numbers,  a  cheap  case  is 
shown  in  Figure  78.  Nail  handles  on  a  small  shoe 
box.  Cut  pasteboard  to  fit  together,  as  shown  in  the 
illustration.  Fasten  the  slits  well  together  by  pressing 
the  top  piece  crosswise  into  the  bottom  piece.  Illus- 
tration shows  the  construction  of  the  pasteboard  slips 
and  appearance  when  complete. 


CHAPTER     VIII 

FROM     INCUBATOR     TO     BROODER 

Some  style  of  mother  is  necessary  to  take  care  of 
the  early  hatched  chicks,  so  the  brooder  and  incu- 
bator go  hand  in  hand.  Both  the  pipe  system, 
using  hot  water  for  heat,  and  a  drum  heated  by  a 
lamp  from  below,  are  used ;  each  has  its  advocates  and 
gives  good  results.  Aside  from  the  matter  of  cost 
there  is  little  to  choose  between  them.  Up  to  within 
a  few  years,  incubators  and  brooders  were  used  only 
by  fanciers  and  commercial  poultry  keepers,  but  of 
late  they  are  being  very  generally  adopted  by  farmers 
who  raise  from  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  chickens 
a  year. 

Warm  the  brooder  pipes  a  day  or  two  before  the 
hatch  is  due.  Take  care  not  to  bare  the  chickens  in 
transferring  them  from  incubator  to  brooder.  Use 
large  flat  baskets  for  the  purpose.  Put  a  newspaper 
in  the  basket  first,  then  a  thick  woolen  shawl  or  old 
blanket  under  and  over  them.  Take  them  rapidly 
from  the  basket,  put  them  under  the  pipes  and  shut 
them  in  tightly  for  a  time.  Do  not  feed  the  chickens 
for  twenty-four  hours  after  hatching.  Good  food 
for  the  first  week  is  cracker,  ground  in  a  bone 
mill  quite  coarse  and  mixed  with  as  much  milk 
as  it  will  absorb,  heated  quite  hot.  It  is  not  a 
bad  plan  to  heat  all  the  food  for  the  first  two 
weeks.  After  the  first  clay  or  two  teach  them 
to  drink  milk.  Grind  broken  crockery  quite  fine  and 
put  a  little  pile  beside  their  food  for  grit.  Use  a 
smooth,  clean  board  on  which  to  spread  their  food  and 


76  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

clean  the  board  after  each  meal.  Get  them  out  of 
doors  the  first  week  if  possible  during  the  midday  sun. 
Give  bits  of  onion  or  cabbage  to  keep  them  busy  while 
out  of  doors.  When  they  stop  running  or  lose  in- 
terest, take  them  in  again. 

After  the  first  week  give  three  feeds  daily  of  shorts 
and  corn  meal  scraped  to  a  crumbly  mass.  In  one 
feed  put  one-sixth  beef  scraps,  in  the  other  two  feeds 
put  onions  or  cabbage  chopped  fine  and  spread  over 
the  plates  of  dough.  For  other  feeds  during  the  day- 
make  a  mound  of  sand,  putting  in  with  it  meal  to  be 
scratched  for  and  eaten  as  soon  as  light.  Wheat,  corn 
and  barley,  all  cracked,  are  good  for  a  feed  at  noon  and 
the  last  feed  at  night.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  store  sods 
of  grass  for  the  first  two  hatches,  as  the  earth  is  quite 
bare  when  they  come  out.  Sow  the  yards  and  runs  to 
rye  for  late  hatches.  The  brooder  must  be  cleaned 
out  under  the  pipes  every  day,  putting  in  clean  sand. 
Clean  out  the  entire  pen  when  the  brood  is  changed 
into  another  pen. 

Very  clear  and  practical  directions  are  sent  by 
L.  Richards,  who  has  used  incubator  and  brooders 
with  great  success  on  his  Massachusetts  farm: 

"The  chicks  are  left  in  the  incubator  two  days  after 
they  are  hatched,  then  they  are  removed  to  the 
brooder,  which  is  heated  by  a  kerosene  lamp  in  the 
rear,  outside.  The  brooder  is  warmed  by  top  heat, 
through  tin  pipes  running  on  either  side  within,  one 
in  the  middle  and  another  across  the  front,  all  con- 
nected, of  course,  with  two  outlets  in  the  rear  portion. 
I  have  six  brooders,  each  large  enough  for  seventy- 
five  chicks.  The  first  week  I  keep  the  temperature 
between  eighty  degrees  and  ninety  degrees.  When 
two  weeks  old  seventy-five  degrees  will  answer,  and  at 
four  or  five  weeks,  seventy  degrees.  In  the  bottom  of 
the  brooder  there  is  a  platform  slide  resting  on  the 
lower  one  and  covering  it,  on  which  the  chicks  rest. 


FROM     INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  77 

After  a  few  clays  I  pull  out  the  slides  and  remove  the 
droppings,  then  re-cover  with  hayseed  and  replace 
them.  They  should  afterward  be  cleaned  every  day. 
Have  a  coarse  sand  floor  or  ground  for  them  to  run  on 
and  pick  to  grind  their  food.  The  first  week,  if  cold,  I 
use  outside  of  the  brooder  a  small  seventy-five  degree 
oil  stove  or  heater  to  warm  the  house  for  them,  espe- 
cially while  they  are  out  feeding. 

"For  the  first  two  weeks  they  require  a  great  deal 
of  warmth,  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  cause  of  death 
among  so  many  small  chicks  is  due  to  lack  of  warmth. 
I  speak  from  experience.  The  same  is  true  with 
chicks  brooded  by  the  hen.  We  have  often  found  an 
apparently  dead  chicken,  chilled  outside,  and  brought 
it  to  life  by  warming  it;  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  it  will 
revive  and  thrive.  When  the  small  chicks  are  out 
feeding  in  the  brooder  house  during  the  first  week, 
watch  them  more  or  less  and  see  that  none  get  chilled. 
After  the  first  week  they  will  generally  go  in  and  under 
the  brooder  at  their  own  option,  and  when  the  sun  is 
out  and  shining  through  the  glass  they  will  crowd 
together  in  the  sunshine,  and  during  a  very  cold  day 
they  will  get  chilled  even  in  the  sun's  rays  (unless  the 
house  is  very  warm)  rather  than  go  under  the  brooder 
where  it  is  warmer.  They  like  the  sun.  During  the 
first  week  I  have  a  fine  wire  shutter  with  which  to 
close  them  in  the  brooder  when  they  have  been  out 
long  enough,  and  always  at  night  for  a  week,  and 
perhaps  two,  if  cold.  If  not  so  restrained,  they  would 
get  out  too  early  in  the  morning,  become  chilled  and 
die.  After  the  first  week  or  two  I  do  not  use  it;  let 
them  go  out  and  in  at  will.  One  other  point  should 
be  mentioned  and  that  is,  I  should  advise  one  not  to 
touch  an  incubator  until  he  has  raised  chicks  success- 
fully by  the  hen.  It  is  one  thing  to  hatch  chicks  and 
quite  another  to  raise  them  successfully. 


70  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

"In  regard  to  feed  for  chicks,  which,  of  course, 
applies  to  chicks  with  the  hen  as  well  as  those  in  the 
brooder,  we  give  them  the  first  day  or  two,  when  they 
are  old  enough  to  eat,  cooked  eggs  chopped  fine.  Get 
the  hen  well  filled  with  corn  or  some  soft  feed  before 
feeding  the  egg  to  the  chicks,  otherwise  the  hungry 
hen  will  gobble  it  up.  After  this  give  them  some 
baked  Indian  meal  and  flour  bread  mixed,  chopped 
fine,  and  milk  to  drink. 

"After  the  first  week  give  them  ground  oats, 
cracked  oats,  cracked  wheat  and  sifted  cracked  corn, 
boiled  broken  rice  and  white  flour  bread  or  graham 
bread.  Milk  if  vou  have  it,  if  not,  water  for  the 


FIG   79  :      DIAGRAM   OF  BROODER   WITH   DRUM 

brooder  chicks.  Give  them  meat  scrap  which  con- 
tains ground  bone,  and  also  cut  fresh  bone.  You  can 
perhaps  keep  a  small  chick  alive  on  cracked  corn 
alone,  the  same  as  half  the  farmers  do,  but  that  is  not 
what  the  man  or  woman  wants  who  is  raising  chicks 
for  profit  and  who  desires  to  get  three  pound  per  pair 
chicks  in  ten,  or,  at  the  farthest,  twelve  weeks,  and  to 
do  this  you  must  work  them  for  all  they  are  worth. 
But  do  not  feed  on  cracked  corn  alone.  I  assure  you 
they  get  tired  of  it,  the  same  as  we  would  upon  a  diet 
of  bread  alone.  Let  them  have  free  access  to  coarse 
sand  or  any  kind  of  grit.  Don't  leave  any  holes  open 
at  night  in  your  houses  for  rats  to  crawl  through." 


FROM     INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER 


79 


An  Improved  Brooder — Figure  79  shows  the  lamp 
below  a  sheet  of  iron  that  securely  shuts  off  the  lamp 
chamber  from  the  space  above.  (See  also  Figure  80.) 
Bed  the  sheet  iron  in  white  lead  to  make  it  air  tight. 
Above  the  sheet  iron  is  a  floor  of  matched  stuff,  and  in 
the  center  is  a  five-inch  drum  opening  into  the  space 
between  the  floor  and  the  sheet  iron.  Around  the  top 
of  the  drum  are  openings  that  let  the  hot  air  out  into 
the  brooder. 

The  top  of  the  drum  extends  out  for  ten  inches 
all  around  the  drum  and  from  the  outer  edge  a  flannel 


FIG  80:       IMPROVED   BROODER 


curtain  is  hung,  inclosing  a  circular  space  with  the 
drum  in  the  center.  The  curtain  is  "slashed"  up  every 
three  inches.  Within  this  curtain  will  be  the  warmest 
place  in  the  brooder.  It  will  always  be  warm  in  there. 
If  it  becomes  too  warm  the  chicks  will  go  outside  the 
curtain.  The  addition  of  this  inclosed  hover  renders 
it  practically  impossible  for  the  chickens  to  be  chilled 
or  overheated,  and  makes  a  very  excellent  brooder  into 
one  that  cannot  well  be  improved. 

The  dotted  line  (Figure  79)  shows  where  the 
cover  can  be  placed  for  an  inside  brooder.  If  it  is  to 
be  used  out  of  doors  it  must  have  a  sloping  cover. 


8o 


POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 


Put  two  lights  of  glass  either  in  the  cover  or  on  oppo- 
site sides. 

Brooder  for  Fifty  Chicks — The  brooder  used  by 
Mr  A.  F.  Stewart  of  Monmouth  county,  New  Jersey, 
is  shown  in  the  diagram  (Figure  81),  being  two  and 
one-half  by  two  and  one-half  by  two  feet,  having  can- 
ton flannel  flaps  around  the  heating  drum,  in  which  the 
young  chicks  can  cuddle.  The  holes,  a  a,  are  for  venti- 


FIG  8 1  :      BROODER  FOR  FIFTY  CHICKS 


lation.  About  fifty  chicks  are  confined  in  each  pen  or 
brooder.  The  feed  of  the  young  chicks  for  the  first 
week  or  two  is  mainly  stale  wheat  bread  (wheat  being 
preferred  to  rye),  which  can  be  bought  cheap  from 
the  baker.  This  is  broken  up  fine  and  wet  with  milk 
or  water,  milk  if  possible.  After  a  few  weeks  the  chicks 
are  kept  in  small  houses. 

A  Handy  Little  Brooder — Take  a  box  three  feet 
square  and  eighteen  inches  deep;  remove  top  and  bot- 


FROM     INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  8 1 

torn.  On  this  box  (Figure  82)  nail  a  square  of  zinc, 
tin  or  sheet  iron,  which  will  exactly  cover  it,  as  at  a  a. 
Nail  on  top  of  this  zinc  cover,  around  the  outside 
edges,  strips  of  board  one  inch  square,  cutting  a  space, 
b  b,  three-fourths  of  an  inch  wide,  in  center  of  each 
side.  On  these  strips  nail  board  cover  or  floor,  c  c. 
Bore  in  center  of  this  cover  a  two-inch  hole,  d,  insert- 
ing a  two-inch  zinc  tube  three  inches  long.  For  hover, 
e,  take  a  board  eighteen  or  twenty-four  inches  square, 
nail  four  legs  four  inches  long  to  the  four  corners. 
Tack  three-inch  fringe  or  strip  of  felt  or  flannel  around 
edges,  slashing  the  same  every  three  or  four  inches. 


FIG    82:       SMALL     LAMP     BROODER 

A  fence  will  be  required  around  the  top  to  keep 
chicks  from  falling  off,  also  a  cleated  run  for  them  to 
go  up  and  down.  Place  a  common  lamp  underneath 
this  box  to  warm  air  in  space,  which  is  drawn  in 
through  spaces  b  b  and  passes  up  through  tube  and 
radiates  out  over  chicks,  keeping  them  constantly  sup- 
plied with  fresh  air.  Bore  hole  in  hover  and  insert 
thermometer,  h.  Keep  the  temperature  at  one  hundred 
the  first  few  days,  the  second  week  lower  to  ninety, 
third  week  eighty  or  less  is  sufficient;  do  not  keep 
them  too  warm. 


82  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

Cheap  Brooder — As  a  substitute  for  expensive 
brooders,  the  device  illustrated  in  Figure  83  will  make 
a  good  home  for  early  hatched  chicks.  It  is  two  and 
one-half  feet  square  and  about  the  same  hight  in 
front,  while  behind  it  is  enough  shorter  to  give  the 
shed  roof  a  nice  pitch.  Nearly  the  entire  front  is  glass, 
beneath  which  is  a  place  for  chicks  to  pass  in  and  out. 
This  can  be  closed  when  desired  by  a  slide  door  as 
shown  in  the  illustration. 


FIG  83  :      HOMEMADE  BROODER 

A  curtain  is  let  down  over  the  sash  during  the 
night  and  rolled  up  out  of  the  way  in  the  daytime. 
It  is  warmed  by  a  common  barn  lantern,  which  is  held 
in  position  by  a  square  box,  which  extends  through 
the  roof,  and  also  serves  as  a  ventilator.  The  cap  of 
the  ventilator  is  adjustable,  permitting  the  lantern  to 
be  taken  out  and  put  in  at  pleasure.  The  ventilator  is 
perforated  at  the  base  to  permit  the  heat  to  radiate 
through  the  room,  and  also  near  the  top  to  allow  the 
gases  from  the  burning  oil  to  escape.  The  entire  bot- 
tom is  arranged  to  slide  in  and  out  as  a  drawer,  so  it 


FROM     INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  83 

may  be  taken  out  and  cleaned,  which  should  be  done 
every  day.  It  costs  but  a  dollar  or  so,  according  to 
material  used. 

The  "Sure"  Brooder — A  small  poultryman  often 
wants  a  cheap  and  suitable  brooder  that  he  can  make 
himself  with  little  or  no  expense,  as  he  cannot  afford 
five  to  twenty-five  dollars  for  a  brooder.  The  one  out- 


FIG     84:       THE     SURE      BROODER 

lined  in  Figure  84  can  be  made  in  an  hour  or  two  by 
any  person  at  all  expert  with  tools.  A  box  three  feet 
long  by  two  and  one-half  feet  broad  and  eighteen 
inches  deep  should  be  made  of  matched  pine  lumber. 
A  tight  floor  of  tin  or  sheet  iron  should  be  put  in  just 
below  the  letter  a  in  the  cut.  This  should  support 
from  one-half  to  one  inch  of  sand,  which  will  need  re- 


84  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

newing  every  week.  The  metal  floor  should  project 
outside  the  box  as  shown  by  c  and  be  nailed  down 
firmly.  This  will  prevent  any  odor  from  the  lamp 
entering  the  chicken  room,  a.  At  c?  is  the  front  of  the 
brooder  and  it  is  made  of  a  strip  of  heavy  flannel  or 
felt  and  hangs  to  the  floor  from  the  ceiling  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  little  chamber.  There  should  be  small 
slits  made  in  the  flannel  but  not  extending  too  far  up, 
though  every  third  or  fourth  cut  may  be  longer  than 
the  others.  This  keeps  out  the  cold  and  makes  the 
room  dark. 

The  platform  e  outside  the  brooder  is  two  and  one- 
half  by  three  feet,  which  will  be  ample  room  until  the 
chickens  are  a  week  old.  It  is  hinged  to  the  brooder 
and  the  board  /  is  hinged  to  the  platform  so  as  to  keep 
it  level  while  the  chickens  are  using  it.  When  a  larger 
room  is  required,  /  can  be  folded  under  e,  and  e  be- 
comes an  incline  to  a  larger  pen.  b  is  the  lower  part  of 
the  brooder  in  which  a  small  hand  lamp  is  placed  to 
heat  it  and  several  inch  auger  holes  should  be  bored  in 
the  sides  of  b  to  supply  fresh  air  and  enable  the  lamp 
to  burn,  g  indicates  the  iron  floor  whose  edges  project 
and  are  nailed  down,  h  is  a  smaller  piece  of  metal  at- 
tached to  it  underneath,  and  about  half  the  size  of  the 
floor.  It  must  not  strike  the  floor  at  any  point,  but 
preserve  an  air  space  one-half  inch  between  it  and  the 
floor,  so  as  to  take  the  first  heat  from  the  lamp  and  dis- 
perse it  evenly  over  the  floor  that  supports  the  sand  on 
which  the  chickens  stand.  If  this  be  omitted  the  lamp 
will  make  the  sand  floor  hot  in  one  spot  and  not  warm 
enough  in  another.  Too  much  heat  is  worse  than  cold 
for  young  chickens. 

A  window  brooder  is  described  as  follows  by  F.  J. 
Sheldon,  Hartford  county,  Connecticut :  "A  box  with 
a  side  or  top  wide  enough  to  occupy  a  window,  say 
three  feet  square  and  one  and  one-half  feet  deep,  is 


FROM     INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  85 

obtained.  This  is  so  arranged  that  a  heater  is  made 
with  a  lamp  and  the  chicks  allowed  a  space  on  top. 
For  the  top  of  the  box,  or  floor  on  which  the  chicks  are 
kept,  matched  boards  are  best.  A  radiating  space  for 
hot  air  is  made  by  tacking  two-inch  cleats  inside  of  the 
box  to  the  floor.  To  these  should  be  fastened  a  sheet 
of  galvanized  iron  which  fits  inside  of  the  box  quite 
snugly.  This  gives  a  heating  chamber  two  inches  high 
and  three  feet  square.  This  chamber  may  be  warmed 
by  a  common  hand  lamp,  set  on  a  shelf  in  the  box 
directly  under  the  center,  about  three  inches  being 
allowed  between  the  lamp  chimney  and  the  iron.  To 
allow  a  good  circulation  in  the  radiating  chamber  bore 
half-inch  holes  into  it  on  all  sides  of  the  box ;  also 
bore  one,  with  a  one  and  one-half-inch  auger,  through 
the  center  of  the  floor.  Make  a  door  in  the  side  of  the 
box  most  convenient  to  put  the  lamp  into.  A  chimney 
to  afford  an  outlet  for  the  hot  air  is  necessary.  This 
may  be  made  of  hard  wood  with  a  hole  in  it  the  same 
size  as  the  hole  in  the  floor  and  cut  down  to  about  two 
inches  in  length  and  as  near  round  on  the  outside  as 
your  time  may  permit.  This  may  be  glued  down  with 
bits  of  tin  in  position  over  the  hole. 

"The  cover  over  the  chicks  is  generally  made  about 
six  inches  smaller  all  around  than  the  floor,  and  is  so 
framed  that  it  will  not  warp  if  heated.  Bore  four 
holes,  one  in  each  corner,  and  get  an  old  broom  handle 
to  fit  into  these  holes.  Cut  the  handles  into  four-inch 
lengths.  These  make  the  legs  and  may  be  raised  or 
lowered  according  to  the  size  of  the  chickens.  When 
first  out,  the  cover  must  be  only  one-half  inch  above 
the  top  of  the  chimney  and  stands  with  a  piece  of 
woolen  cloth  tacked  on  the  sides.  A  wire  fence  about 
one  and  one-fourth  feet  high  may  be  tacked  around 
the  top  of  the  box.  This  will  keep  the  birds  in  place 
and  also  protect  them  from  rats,  etc,  if  they  are  around. 


86  POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

Some  may  hesitate  about  putting  fifty  chicks  in  a 
brooder,  but  here  are  the  first  steps.  The  brooder  is 
built  and  the  lamp  lit.  Now  fit  a  piece  of  newspaper 
carefully  on  the  floor  or  top  of  brooder,  and  around 
the  chimney.  This  done,  cover  the  paper  with  dry 
sand  that  is  formed  of  grit  or  fine  stones  about  one- 
fourth  inch  thick.  Place  a  thermometer  on  the  sand 
near  the  chimney  and  place  the  cover  on." 

Large  Hot  Water  Brooder — Figure  85  shows  a 
box  six  inches  deep,  three  feet  wide  and  fifty  feet  long. 
Two-inch  iron  pipes  are  arranged  as  shown  in  the  illus- 


FIG  85  :       HEATER,   WATER  BARREL  AND  PIPING 

tration,  the  top  of  the  box  being  removed  to  show  the 
interior.  The  hot  .water  may  be  supplied  by  an  ordi- 
nary stove  "water  back,"  or  by  a  coil  of  pipe  in  a 
stove.  This  is  heated  by  a  piece  of  pipe  one  inch  in 
diameter,  coiled  in  a  stove,  holes  being  cut  in  the  stove 
for  the  purpose  of  admitting  pipes.  The  hot  water 
flows  out  and  the  cold  water  flows  in.  The  floor  of  the 
box  is  made  close,  with  tongued  and  grooved  boards. 
The  cold  air  enters  through  tubes  reaching  to  the  out- 
side of  the  building.  It  is  heated  by  coming  in  con- 
tact with  the  pipes,  and  enters  into  the  tubes  on  the 
top  of  the  floor,  which  are  two  and  a  half  inches  high. 


FROM     INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  O/ 

Another  Homemade  Brooder — This  brooder  has  a 
heater  four  feet  long,  one  foot  wide  and  six  inches  high. 
The  top  is  covered  with  zinc  nailed  on  tightly.  There  is 
no  bottom  except  over  one-third  of  the  back  end.  The 
front  has  a  sliding  door  with  a  window  to  look  at  the 
lamp.  The  inside  of  the  sides  is  lined  with  tin,  and 
the  chimney  hole  is  one  inch  from  the  bottom  in  the 
middle  of  the  back,  and  is  for  a  tin  pipe  one  and  three- 
eighths  inches  in  diameter.  The  neater  is  shown  in 


\ 


\ 


FIG    86:       DIAGRAM     OF     BROODER 


Figure  86,  giving  a  bottom  view  without  the  sliding 
door  in  front,  and  with  boards  one  foot  wide  nailed  on 
the  top  through  the  zinc. 

Figure  87  gives  a  top  view  of  the  same  after  strips 
two  inches  wide  have  been  fitted  in  at  each  end  of  the 
zinc  to  make  a  level  surface  all  around  the  edge.  Next 
nail  strips,  also  two  inches  wide,  all  around  the  edge, 
except  at  the  corner  opening  one  and  one-half 


88  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

inches  wide  to  admit  fresh  air;  b  is  a  strip  ten  inches 
long  nailed  on  to  conduct  the  fresh  air  to  the  zinc. 

Now  if  this  is  covered  with  matched  boards  there 
will  be  a  chamber  two  inches  deep  over  the  zinc  and 
one  inch  elsewhere.  Bore  a  hole  in  the  center  for  a 
pipe  three  inches  long  and  one  and  one-eighth  inches 
in  diameter.  Around  this  pipe  and  on  this  floor  the 
chicks  keep  warm  and  sleep  under  a  cover,  also  made 
of  matched  boards,  two  inches  smaller  every  way  than 


FIG   87  I       SECTION    VIEW    OF    BROODER 

the  floor.  This  cover  has  four  round  legs  which  go 
through  holes  and  raise  and  lower  by  means  of  nails, 
used  as  pegs  in  stay  pieces  which  hold  the  matched 
boards  together.  Around  the  edge  of  the  cover  tack 
carpet  or  blanket  cut  in  slits  every  four  inches  so  that 
the  chicks  may  run  in  and  out.  The  blanket  should  be 
four  inches  wide  and  the  cover  kept  two  and  one-half 
inches  from  the  floor  when  the  chicks  are  first  put  in 
the  brooder.  When  the  brooder  is  in  operation,  warm 


FROM    INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  89 

air  is  thus  constantly  flowing  over  their  backs  and  ven- 
tilation is  perfect.  A  tin  chimney  twenty  inches  long 
will  carry  off  the  fumes  from  the  lamp. 

Put  the  brooder  under  a  warm,  sunny  shed,  and 
set  it  on  the  ground,  or  bank  up  nearly  level  with  the 
floor  and  make  a  pit  for  the  lamp  with  an  open  cover. 
Be  careful  not  to  cover  the  hole  where  the  fresh  air 
enters  the  brooder.  Place  the  lamp  as  far  under  as 
you  can  reach,  using  straight  tin  chimneys  with  isin- 
glass windows  in  them.  The  same  kind  of  lamps  and 
oil  should  be  used  as  for  an  incubator.  The  lamp  need 
not  be  turned  up  high,  nor  must  the  chimney  be  nearer 
the  zinc  than  two  inches ;  eighty  degrees  is  warm 


FIG    88:       BROODER     FOR     MILD     CLIMATE 


enough  for  them.  No  thermometer  need  be  used  in  the 
brooder.  Keep  dry  sand  on  the  floor  and  clean  off  the 
droppings  every  morning.  Let  their  run  be  small  at 
first  and  do  not  let  them  out  when  young  in  damp  or 
stormy  weather. 

Warm  Weather  Brooder — A  brooder  which  will 
answer  very  well  for  late-hatched  chicks  or  for  loca- 
tions where  the  climate  is  mild,  is  that  devised  by  a 
successful  California  poultryman,  who  writes: 

"I  have  constructed  a  brooder  (Figure  88),  six  feet 
across  the  front,  four  feet  in  depth  and  six  feet  in  hight. 
The  walls  are  of  common  rough  lumber  and  battened ; 
the  roof  is  made  of  shakes  and  has  a  sharp  pitch  each 


9O  POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

way,  the  gables  closed  with  grain  sacks  for  better  ven- 
tilation. There  are  set  in  the  front  three  sash  doors 
twenty-four  by  thirty  inches  each,  and  made  to  swing 
outward  for  convenience  in  getting  to  the  chicks. 

"About  one-half  of  the  interior  is  floored  and 
sanded.  Six  inches  below  the  sash  doors  a  solid  door 
is  hung  to  admit  of  lighting  the  lamp,  etc.  There  are 
three  compartments,  separated  one  from  the  other  by 
means  of  wire  cloth  or  netting,  about  eighteen  inches 
high  from  front  to  rear,  and  situated  in  front  of  the 
mother,  with  hight  sufficient  to  permit  the  ready  egress 
and  ingress  of  the  chicks.  Such  a  house  as  described 


FIG  89  I   OUTDOOR  BROODER  AND  RUN 

can  be  built  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  six  dollars  and 
fifty  cents.  The  material  employed  consists  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  lumber,  four  pairs  of  strap 
hinges,  three  sashes,  fifty  shakes,  and  two  pounds  of 
nails.  As  soon  as  the  chicks  are  dry  I  place  them  in 
this  brooder,  in  the  sun  if  it  is  shining  brightly,  if  not, 
then  they  are  placed  with  the  mother,  taking  care  to 
provide  a  shady  retreat  which  the  chicks  will  seek  if  it 
should  become  too  warm." 

A  very  convenient  size  is  one  that  will  accom- 
modate fifty  chickens  until  three  months  old,  two 
feet  wide  and  four  feet  long;  the  sides  are  twelve 


FROM    INCUBATOR    TO    BROODER  Ql 

inches  high  under  the  glass,  sloping  to  three  inches  at 
the  back ;  the  cover  of  the  back  or  inclined  part  should 
be  movable,  and  lined  with  sheepskin  or  with  pieces  of 
flannel  cut  into  strips  three  inches  wide,  and  tacked  to 
the  under  surface  of  the  lid  so  as  to  hang  down  length- 
wise with  the  lid ;  from  the  highest  part  of  the  lid 
should  hang  a  curtain  made  of  flannel  all  across  the 
box,  and  to  within  half  an  inch  of  the  floor ;  this  keeps 
the  cold  air  out  of  their  roosting  place.  The  front  half 
of  the  brooder  is  covered  with  four  panes  of  glass ;  this 
admits  the  sun.  The  black  dots  in  each  peak  are  in- 
tended to  represent  one-inch  holes  for  ventilation. 

An  ordinary  stone  gallon  jug  (placed  beneath  the 
lid)  filled  with  hot  water  four  or  five  times  a  day,  will 
furnish  all  the  heat  needed. 

Figure  89  represents  another  artificial  mother  for 
outdoor  use  in  mild  weather,,  and  a  wire  run  for  the 
chicks.  It  is  very  simple  in  its  construction ;  it  is  made 
on  the  same  principle  as  the  mother  previously  de- 
scribed, excepting  the  bottom  is  separate  from  the  body 
of  the  coop,  which  can  be  removed  to  clean.  It  is  very 
important  that  it  should  be  kept  free  from  the  drop- 
pings of  the  chicks,  for  if  they  are  allowed  to  accumu- 
late they  will  breed  lice.  If  the  weather  should  be  too 
cold  for  the  comfort  of  the  chicks  then  a  jug  of  hot 
water  should  be  placed  within  the  box;  this  will  not 
be  necessary  unless  very  cold,  as  a  large  number  of 
chicks  huddled  together  will  generate  a  considerable 
amount  of  heat. 


CHAPTER  IX 

TRAPS    FOR    POULTRY    PESTS 

Rats  are  no  doubt  the  prime  nuisance  in  most 
poultry  raising  sections.  They  steal  grain  and  eggs, 
disturb  sitting  hens  and  kill  young  chickens  by  whole- 
sale. By  reason  of  their  numbers  and  boldness  they 
usually  give  more  trouble  than  the  wild  pests  of  the 
swamp  and  forest.  To  fight  them  with  cats  is  to  invite 
a  remedy  which  may  prove  nearly  as  bad  as  the  dis- 
ease. A  trained  rat  dog  is  the  best  policeman  for  pests 
of  this  kind,  and  he  may  be  taught  to  drive  off  strange 
cats.  He  will  in  fact  fight  or  at  least  give  warning  of 
any  dangerous  intruders  except  hawks.  Rats  often 
nest  and  burrow  directly  under  chicken  houses  and 
coops.  When  the  owner  suspects  anything  of  the 
kind  let  him  call  his  dog  and  pry  up  the  coop  or  tip  it 
over,  and  Snip  will  do  the  rest. 

A  simple,  but  where  rats  are  numerous,  very  effec- 
tive trap  is  made  by  taking  a  large  shallow  box  with 
the  lid  shut  down  and  but  one  small  hole  in  the  side 
near  the  bottom.  For  this  hole  have  a  sliding  lid  which 
will  stay  open  and  can  be  shut  suddenly.  Place  the 
box  on  the  barn  or  stable  floor,  put  some  grain  or  other 
bait  in  it,  and  leave  it  for  several  days.  Put  everything 
else  that  is  eatable  as  much  out  of  the  reach  of  rats  as 
practicable.  Renew  the  grain  in  the  box  if  it  is  taken. 
Then  when  the  rats  have  got  used  to  the  box  and  re- 
sort to  it  regularly  for  their  feed,  come  up  to  it  softly, 
shut  down  the  sliding  lid,  take  the  box  off  into  some 
open  space,  where  the  rats  will  have  fair  play,  call 
the  dogs  and  let  the  rats  get  away — if  they  can.  Then 


TRAPS     FOR    POULTRY     PESTS 


93 


take  back  the  box  and  proceed  as  before,  using  another 
bait  or  putting  the  box  in  another  place  as  soon  as  you 
fail  of  success. 

An  old-style  box  trap  with  a  modern  improvement 
or  two  is  a  sure  and  secure  rat  catcher.  Get  a  com- 
mon box,  remove  the  top  and  one  side  and  put  them 
together  as  at  e  (Figure  90),  and  fasten  with  a  hinge 
as  at  a.  Fasten  a  spool,  c,  in  the  end  of  a  board,  b,  and 
nail  it  to  the  back  of  the  box.  Then  bore  a  one-inch 
hole  about  six  inches  from  bottom  of  box,  and  at  h  cut 


FIG 


IMPROVED  RAT  TRAP 


a  notch  in  the  outside  of  the  end  board.  Sharpen  stick, 
g,  at  each  end.  The  stick,  /  i,  should  be  twelve  inches 
long,  notched  at  k,  so  as  to  balance  in  the  hole.  The 
end  /  should  be  pointed,  and  the  end  i  notched  and 
pointed.  Fasten  a  string  at  m,  bring  over  the  spool  at 
e  and  down  to  g,  and  tie  at  middle  of  stick  g. 
Have  the  string  short  enough  so  that  when  set  the  door 
will  be  wide  open,  about  eight  inches.  Place  bait  of 
any  kind  on  /.  When  a  rabbit  or  other  pest  sniffles  it 
he  will  dislodge  stick,  g,  by  moving  it  at  i,  and  the 


94 


POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 


cover  will  drop.    Sometimes  a  weight  can  be  used  on 
the  cover  to  advantage. 

Cat  Trapj — A  slight  modification  of  the  common 
box  trap,  as  in  Figure  91,  makes  it  the  best  kind  of  a 
cat  trap.  A  robber  cat  in  a  trap  is  a  desperate  tartar 
to  handle  and  if  drowned  while  inside,  no  other  cat 
will  soon  enter.  To  organize  a  quiet  funeral,  have  a 
slide,  a,  just  large  enough  for  the  prisoner  to  poke  her 
head  through.  Then  push  down  the  slide  and  finish 
her  catship  with  a  mallet  stroke. 


FIG  91  :      CAT  TRAP 

Trapping  and  Killing  Skunks — These  are  a  nui- 
sance about  a  farmhouse  or  barnyard,  and  where  they 
get  into  the  habit  of  raiding  the  chicken  yards,  must 
be  gotten  rid  of  at  any  cost.  Often  they  are  allowed 
to  make  and  occupy  nests  in  the  vicinity  of  the  barn 
and  house  and  remain  undisturbed  on  account  of  the 
disagreeable  consequences  an  interference  would  bring 
about.  The  average  man  would  rather  beard  the  lion 
in  his  den  than  risk  an  encounter  with  a  skunk.  A 
pair  of  these  animals  made  their  abode  beneath  the 


TRAPS     FOR     POULTRY     PESTS 


95 


floor  of  a  neighbor's  summer  kitchen,  and  as  the  floor 
was  not  tight,  got  into  the  habit  of  coming  into  the 
room  above.  The  farmer  captured  them  by  use  of 
the  trap  shown  in  the  illustration  (Figure  92). 

A  small-sized  dry  goods  box,  not  so  large  but  it 
can  be  easily  carried,  is  fixed  with  a  trap  door,  which 
is  attached  to  a  lever  connected  with  a  trigger  in  such 
a  manner  that  when  sprung,  the  door  will  drop.  The 


FIG  92  :      SKUNK  TRAP 

box  can  be  carried  with  its  captive  to  a  safe  distance, 
where  the  odor  will  not  be  disturbing,  and  the  pris- 
oner shot  or  dispatched  by  a  trusty  dog. 

The  illustration  shows  the  trap  ready  set.  The 
trap  door,  a,  is  attached  to  a  lever,  b,  which  rests  on  a 
fulcrum  at  c.  The  other  end  of  the  lever  is  fastened 
to  the  trigger,  d.  The  trigger  passes  through  the  top 
of  the  box,  the  notch,  /,  catching  on  the  edge  of  the 
hole  in  the  box,  which  should  be  large  enough  to  give 


90  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

plenty  of  play.  The  trigger  stick  should  be  long 
enough  to  reach  within  an  inch  of  the  bottom  of  the 
box,  where  the  bait,  e,  is  fastened.  A  hinged  door  in 
the  side  of  the  box  makes  the  last  act  easy — that  of 
dispatching  the  entrapped  animal.  If  the  box  is  car- 
ried carefully,  there  is  no  danger  of  the  skunk  opening 
hostilities  until  immediate  danger  threatens  him. 


'  /'/'Jl  V ' ' "' 


FIG   93  :      PROTECTION    FROM    HAWKS 

A  safe  and  quick  way  with  skunks  is  narrated  by 
A.  H.  Binney  of  Massachusetts,  as  follows:  "I  take 
an  ordinary  box  trap  and  bait  it  with  a  chicken's  head 
or  piece  of  liver  by  tying  it  onto  the  spindle,  but 
before  doing  that  I  drag  the  bait  around  on  the  ground, 
and  every  time  drag  it  into  the  trap  so  as  to  give  them 
a  scent  to  follow.  Then  I  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground, 
two  and  one-half  feet  deep,  about  eighteen  inches 
across,  and  now  I  am  ready  for  the  skunk.  I  am  sure 
to  have  him  the  first  morning.  I  then  take  trap  and 


TRAPS     FOR    POULTRY     PESTS  97 

drag  it  to  the  hole  I  have  dug,  lift  the  trap  up  and 
slide  the  skunk  into  the  hole.  I  have  my  gun  handy 
but  do  not  have  to  hurry,  as  he  is  a  clumsy  animal 
and  would  have  hard  work  to  get  out  of  the  hole,  if 


FIG  94:      TRAPPING  A  HAWK 


he  ever  could.  I  have  a  shovel  handy  and  immedi- 
ately after  shooting  him,  cover  him  with  dirt.  There 
is  not  the  least  danger  of  getting  any  scent  on  the 
clothes  from  getting  him  out  of  the  trap  in  this  way." 


90  POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

Protection  from  Hawks — Where  hawks  abound, 
young  chicks  must  be  closely  guarded.  If  shut  up 
closely  in  pens,  growth  will  be  greatly  retarded.  A 
good  plan  under  such  circumstances  is  shown  in  the 
accompanying  cut.  Plow  two  furrows  parallel  to  each 
other  and  just  far  enough  apart  so  that  the  distance 
from  the  outside  of  each  shall  be  just  six  feet.  Make 
the  furrows  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long.  Stretch 
a  roll  of  six-foot  wire  netting  along  the  furrows, 
fastening  the  edges  down  with  loose  stones.  This 


Trap 


FIG  95  I      SETTING  A  HAWK  TRAP 


gives  a  long  run  on  both  grass  ground  and  plowed 
land  for  the  chicks,  and  hawks  cannot  molest  them. 
The  coop  can  be  set  at  one  end,  the  other  end  being 
stopped  with  sod.  The  plan  is  shown  in  Figure  93. 

In  Little  Compton,  Rhode  Island,  which  town 
produces  annually  from  thirty  thousand  to  forty  thou- 
sand chicks,  a  bounty  of  twenty-five  cents  per  head  is 
paid  for  hen  and  chicken  hawks.  The  same  sum  is 
paid  for  crows  per  head,  they  being  nearly  as  inimical 


TRAPS  FOR  POULTRY  PESTS  99 

if  not  equally  so  to  the  career  of  the  chicken.  This 
bounty  is  usually  voted  at  the  town  meeting.  At  times 
it  has  been  left  for  the  town  council  to  fix  the  sum, 
never  being  more  than  twenty-five  cents  per  head,  and 
some  years  a  lesser  sum. 

Various  devices  to  prevent  the  near  approach  of 
the  above-mentioned  birds  are  noticed  about  here, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  small  windmill 
so  arranged  that  at  each  revolution  a  rapid  and  noisy 
clapping  is  produced.  Another  arrangement  quite 
generally  in  vogue  is  to  erect  long  poles  about  the 
chicken  yard,  a  stout  cord  extending  from  pole  to 
pole  at  top,  to  which  cord  are  appended  multicolored 
strips  of  cloth.  This  method,  while  it  prominently 
advertises  the  location  of  the  tender  morsel,  is  sup- 
posed to  intimidate  its  wary  foe. 

For  catching  hawks,  the  only  effective  device 
seems  to  be  a  common  steel  jaw  trap  set  where  the 
bird  is  most  likely  to  alight.  A  good  location  is  on 
the  top  of  a  common  fence  rail  or  a  long  pole,  set 
firmly  in  the  ground.  It  is  best  located  on  some 
moderately  high  point  in  the  middle  of  a  field  near  the 
chicken  lot,  as  indicated  in  Figure  94.  In  Figure  95 
are  shown  details  of  arranging  the  trap. 


CHAPTER    X 

THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 

A  convenient  inside  arrangement  which  allows 
all  common  work  to  be  done  from  the  passageway  is 
indicated  by  the  plan,  Figure  96.  Drop  doors  enable 
the  attendant  to  fill  the  dishes  and  troughs,  get  the 
eggs,  clear  off  the  droppings  board,  and  even  to  take 
fowls  from  the  roosts  without  going  into  the  pens. 
The  diagram  shows  also  a  cloth  cover  to  be  drawn  in 
front  of  the  roosts  on  cold  nights. 

A  ventilator  that  can  be  opened  and  closed  at  the 
will  of  the  attendant  will  give  good  results  if  given 
proper  attention,  and  without  attention  no  ventilator 
will  give  the  best  results.  All  ventilators  that  are  in 
continuous  operation  either  give  too  much  ventilation 
during  cold  and  windy  weather  or  not  enough  during 
still,  warm  days.  As  a  rule,  they  give  too  much  ven- 
tilation at  night  and  too  little  during  the  warm  parts 
of  the  day.  The  one  illustrated  in  Figure  97  can  be 
readily  controlled  and  is  used  by  G.  C.  Watson  of  the 
Pennsylvania  experiment  station. 

Ventilators  are  not  needed  in  severe  cold  weather, 
but  during  the  first  warm  days  of  early  spring,  and 
whenever  the  temperature  rises  above  freezing  during 
the  winter  months,  some  ventilation  should  be  pro- 
vided. Houses  with  single  walls  will  become  quite 
frosty  on  the  inside  during  severe  weather,  which  will 
cause  considerable  dampness  whenever  the  tempera- 
ture rises  sufficiently  to  thaw  out  all  the  frost  of  the 
side  walls  and  roof.  At  this  time  a  ventilator  is  most 
needed.  A  ventilator  in  the  highest  part  of  the  roof 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 


101 


that  can  be  closed  tightly  by  means  of  cords  or  chains 
answers  the  purpose  admirably  and  may  be  constructed 
with  little  expense.  The  ease  and  convenience  of 
operation  are  important  points,  and  should  not  be 


Way 


FIG  96  I       INTERIOR  CONVENIENCES 

neglected  when  the  building  is  being  constructed.  It 
is  a  simple  matter  for  the  attendant  to  open  or  close 
a  ventilator  as  he  passes  through  the  house  if  the 
appliances  for  operating  it  are  within  easy  reach. 


102         POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 


Pulleys — Figure  98  shows  a  screw  pulley,  sold  at 
hardware  stores  very  cheap,  and  useful  about  the 
poultry  house  for  operating  ventilators,  small  doors 
and  windows  and  feed  boxes. 

Figure  99  shows  a  simple  way  of  making  pulleys 
for  raising  henhouse  windows  by  a  cord  operated  from 
a  hallway,  or  for  any  other  position  about  farm  build- 


FIG  97  :      GOOD  VENTILATION 

ings  where  light  pulleys  are  desired.  An  empty  spool, 
from  which  the  thread  has  been  used,  has  a  round  plug 
driven  through  it,  the  ends  projecting,  as  shown. 
Two  screw  eyes  of  the  proper  size  slip  over  the  ends, 
after  being  screwed  into  the  wall  or  ceiling.  Use 
small  spools  and  long  screw  eyes. 

Clean   Houses — Useful  implements  for  cleaning 
and  renovating  a  poultry  house  appear  in  Figure  IOO. 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES  103 

The  force  pump  should  have  nozzle  and  valves  coarse 
enough  for  use  in  whitewashing.  With  rather  thin 
whitewash  and  a  pump,  the  interior  of  a  lousy  hen- 
house can  be  coated  in  a  few  minutes.  Outside  white- 
washing can  also  be  done"  in  this  way.  A  force  pump 
is  good  for  applying  kerosene  emulsion  where  lice, 


FIG  98  :       SCREW   PULLEY 


FIG  99  :       HOMEMADE  PULLEY 

nest  bugs  or  fleas  are  very  plenty.  The  emulsion  is 
made  by  adding  kerosene  oil  to  soapsuds  and  shaking 
them  together  in  a  covered  pail  until  they  mix,  or  by 
pumping  them  a  fe\v  times  from  one  pail  to  another. 
For  applying  disinfecting  solutions  of  sulphuric  acid 


IO4         POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

and  water,  solutions  of  corrosive  sublimate,  etc,  a 
good  pump  is  also  convenient.  Brass  pumps  of  this 
kind  cost  about  five  dollars  each. 


FIG    IOO:       CONVENIENCES    FOR    INSIDE    WORK 

For  careful  application  of  whitewash,  one  of  the 
brushes  shown  in  Figure'  100  is  useful.  It  is  of  bristles 
outside  and  fiber  within  strong  and  durable.  The 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 


105 


large  size  costs  about  seventy-five  cents.     It  may  be 
fitted  with  a  homemade  handle. 

To  clean  poultry  roosts,  feed  troughs,  and  for 
scraping  trees.  Figure  100  shows  a  handy  implement. 
It  is  an  old  hoe  with  the  edges,  a  a,  cut  as  illustrated 
so  as  to  make  it  of  triangular  shape.  The  blade  should 
be  sharpened  occasionally  to  scrape  easily.  The 
points  often  come  handy  in  loosening  hard  or  sticky 
matter  in  the  corners. 


FIG   IOI  :       DUST  BATH 


In  the  lower  corner  of  the  illustration,  Figure  100, 
is  shown  a  barrel  with  roosts  around  the  top,  so  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  manure  from  the  roosting  fowls 
is  caught  in  the  barrel,  where  it  gives  no  further 
trouble,  except  to  add  a  little  dry  earth  or  coal  ashes 
once  in  a  while. 

Dust  Baths — Figure  101  shows  a  space  boxed  off 
as  a  dust  bath  in  the  sunniest  spot  in  the  house,  just 
below  a  window.  If  the  box  is  raised  a  foot  or  two 
from  the  floor,  the  floor  space  beneath  will  be  avail- 
able for  the  fowls  or  for  nests.  For  a  flock  of  twenty,  a 


IO6        POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

bath  box  three  by  six  feet  is  a  good  size.  An  old  sink 
makes  a  fairly  good  receptacle.  Fill  with  dust,  ashes 
and  a  little  sulphur,  all  perfectly  dry,  and  the  fowls 
will  use  all  winter.  The  space  above  the  dust  bin  can 
also  be  used  as  a  scratching  place  or  as  a  shelf  for 
nests,  by  putting  in  a  kind  of  platform.  Thus  we 
have  three  stones  in  use;  earth  floor,  dust  bath  and 


FIG     IO2t      OUTSIDE    DUST    BATH 


FIG   IO3  :       FOR  DUSTING  FOWLS 

platform   floor.     An  outdoor  dust  bath  is  shown  in 
Figure  102. 

To  dust  chickens  by  wholesale  with  any  kind  of 
insect  powder,  fix  a  small  box  with  sliding  cover,  to 
revolve,  as  indicated  in  Figure  103.  Put  three  or 
more  chicks  in  the  box,  with  a  spoonful  of  powder, 
close  the  slide  and  revolve  slowly  and  carefully  three 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 


107 


or  four  times.  There  will  be  a  great  fluttering  inside 
and  the  dust  will  fill  the  chicks'  feathers  very  com- 
pletely. Then  replace  these  chicks  with  three  others, 
and  more  of  the  insect  powder. 

Heating   a    House — For    a   brooder    house,    hot 
water  systems  have  the  advantages  of  economy  of  fuel, 


FIG  IO4  :       HEATER  FOR  POULTRY  HOUSE 


with  safety  and  ease  of  control.  The  piping  is  larger 
and  costs  somewhat  more  than  for  steam.  The  style 
shown  in  Figure  104  is  quoted  by  an  agricultural 
supply  company  at  eighteen  dollars  to  eighty-four 
dollars,  according  to  size,  and  including  all  piping, 


IO8         POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

valves  and  tank.  Anybody  can  set  up  a  heater,  and 
it  is  almost  as  easy  to  operate  as  a  coal  stove.  Steam 
heat  has  some  advantages  for  a  large  plant  carefully 
planned  with  all  the  buildings  supplied  from  a  large 
boiler.  But  for  the  great  majority  of  establishments 
a  hot  water  system  is  to  be  preferred. 

Houses  for  layers  are  seldom  heated,  owing  to 
the  impression  that  the  stock  would  become  feeble 
and  cold  or  roup  increase.  But  the  tests  at  the  Utah 


FIG  IO5  :       HEATER  AND  VENTILATOR 

experiment  farm  have  attracted  much  attention  as 
tending  to  show  that  a  moderate  amount  of  heat  may 
be  profitable  for  mature  fowls,  decidedly  increasing 
the  egg  yield.  On  estates  where  a  greenhouse  or 
brooder  plant  is  located,  there  would  be  little  trouble 
or  expense  in  turning  on  a  little  heat  in  the  henhouse 
during  very  cold  days  and  nights. 

Among  the  many  plans  in  use  for  warming  the 
poultry  house,  the  heater  illustrated  in  Figure   105 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 


109 


supplies  heat  and  ventilation  or  a  supply  of  fresh,  warm 
air.  Any  kind  of  a  flat  top  stove  or  even  a  kerosene 
stove  will  give  sufficient  heat.  The  size  of  the  stove 
should  depend  on  the  size  of  the  house,  but  forty 
degrees  is  a  sufficient  heat.  The  illustration  shows  a 
closed  box  a  yard  square  and  an  inch  deep,  made  of 
ordinary  sheet  iron.  The  box  or  heater  is  placed  on 
a  small  stove,  or  if  legs  are  attached  to  each  corner  of 


FIG  IO6:       LAMP  HEATER 

the  heater,  a  lamp  may  be  placed  under  it.  The  cold 
air  comes  in  at  a,  passes  through  the  box,  becoming 
heated,  and  emerges  at  the  pipe  b.  The  cold  air  pipe 
is  one-half  inch  in  diameter  and  the  warm  air  pipe  one 
inch.  The  pipe  a  should  be  long  enough  to  extend 
through  the  walls  to  the  outside,  so  as  to  bring  in  the 
pure  air.  No  ventilators  on  the  top  of  the  building 
will  be  required,  and  the  air  will  keep  the  house  dry. 
Always  bring  the  air  in  and  discharge  it  near  the  roof, 


IIO         POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

as  the  birds  will  not  then  crowd  or  become  lame  as 
they  will  when  the  warmth  is  below  them. 

Oil  is  too  costly  for  poultry  house  heating  except 
on  a  small  scale,  or  in  a  limited  way.  For  small 
flocks  of  choice  hens,  the  device  shown  in  Figure  106 
may  help  to  secure  more  eggs  and  to  save  combs  in 
zero  weather.  It  is  a  cheap  heater,  by  which  the  foul 
air  is  carried  off  through  a  smoke  pipe,  and  the  air 


FIG  IO7:       FEED  COOKER 

warmed  around  the  heater,  thus  avoiding  the  odor 
from  the  burning  oil.  The  heater  was  made  at  the  tin 
shop  and  is  of  good  sheet  iron,  but  it  would  do  to  use 
old  milk  or  oil  cans  if  one  has  large  ones  to  spare. 
The  gas  from  the  lamp  passes  out  of  the  building- 
through  the  pipe  funnel,  f.  The  outside  shell  is  two 
inches  larger  in  diameter  than  the  inside  one,  allowing 


THIRTY     USEFUL    DEVICES 


III 


the  air  to  pass  up,  become  heated  and  go  out  to  warm 
the  house.  A  few  holes  should  be  punched  around 
the  base  of  the  heater  as  shown,  to  admit  air  for  the 
lamp.  A  common  incubator  or  brooder  lamp  is  used. 
Feed  Cooker — Where  much  soft  feed  is  used,  a 
cooker  and  warmer  is  needed.  A  useful  style  appears 
in  Figure  107.  It  can  be  had  to  burn  coal  or  wood, 
and  costs  four  dollars  to  twelve  dollars,  according  to 
size.  In  this  connection  the  feeder  is  advised  to  cook 
all  refuse  meat  fed  to  fowls  in  order  to  kill  any  possible 
germs  of  disease.  They  sometimes  get  consumption 


FIG    IO8:       SMALL    COOKER    FOR    STOVE 

and  bowel  troubles  by  eating  sickly  raw  meat. 
Cooked  meat  is  also  a  better  keeper  than  when  raw. 
Figure  108  represents  a  cheap  feed  cooker,  which 
can  be  made  by  cutting  an  ordinary  wash  boiler  in  two 
in  the  middle,  having  an  end  soldered  on  and  a  handle 
attached  near  the  top.  Into  this  during  the  day  throw 
all  potato  parings,  vegetable  parings  and  other  matter 
from  the  kitchen.  Add  water  and  place  on  the  stove 
after  the  evening  meal  is  cooked  and  let  it  remain 
until  the  space  is  needed  in  the  morning  for  cooking 
breakfast,  when  it  is  removed.  After  breakfast  is 
cooked,  it  is  again  replaced  and  by  the  time  the  owner 


112         POULTRY     APPLIANCES    AND     HANDICRAFT 

is  ready  to  feed  the  chickens,  the  whole  mess  is 
thoroughly  cooked  and  is  excellent  for  making  a 
warm  feed  for  laying  hens.  The  cost  is  very  slight 
and  old  boilers  otherwise  useless  can  be  utilized. 

Worm  Box — An  abundant  supply  of  worms  suit- 
able for  winter  chicks  can  be  bred  without  the  bad 
odor  caused  when  meat  is  used  as  a  breeding 


FIG  IO9  I       WORM  BOX 

stance,  by  use  of  the  frame  box  and  filling  indicated  in 
Figure  109.  The  larger  it  is  made,  the  better  it  will 
work.  Fill  with  six-inch  layers,  using  horse  manure, 
loam  or  garden  soil,  and  the  cheap  mixture  of  meal 
and  dirt  which  can  be  had  of  large  grain  dealers. 
Keep  indoors  in  a  warm,  light  cellar  or  similar  loca- 
tion, and  the  worms  will  be  bred  whenever  there  are 
flies  to  lay  the  eggs.  If  earthworms  are  stored  in  this 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES  113 

box,  they  will  live  and  thrive  if  watered  occasionally, 
and  can  be  used  at  convenience. 

To  Prevent  Hens  Scratching — Take  any  stout 
piece  of  cloth  about  six  inches  long  and  two  and  one- 
half  inches  wide,  lap  together  around  the  hen's  foot, 
as  in  Figure  no.  This  is  sure  to  prevent  scratching 
and  will  last  all  summer.  A  piece  of  bagging -will 
answer.  Do  not  fasten  so  tightly  as  to  stop  circula- 
tion. Use  soft  cord. 

In  this  connection,  C.  W.  Shorter,  Chenango 
county,  New  York,  writes:  "My  hens  bothered  us 
some  by  digging  in  the  garden  and  flower  beds  until 
I  fixed  what  I  call  a  poke  (Figure  no),  and  fastened 
it  on  their  leg.  It  is  made  of  a  piece  of  white  ash 


FIG     IIO:      TO     PREVENT    SCRATCHING 

about  six  or  seven  inches  long,  flattened  at  one  end 
and  sharpened  on  the  other.  The  flat  end  is  bent 
around  the  hen's  leg  and  tied  with  some  strong  thread. 
It  drags  behind  when  they  walk,  but  when  they  go  to 
scratch,  they  sit  down,  and  seem  quite  surprised. 
Heavy  wire  would  furnish  good  ones,  and  are  more 
easily  made." 

Shipping  Crates  for  Fowls — The  top  strip  on  each 
side  of  crate  (Figure  1 1 1  at  the  left  of  the  illustration) 
should  extend  four  inches  at  each  end  of  crate,  as  no 
handles  can  be  placed  on  the  coop  that  will  be  quite 
so  convenient.  The  bottom  should  be  boarded,  never 
stripped,  as  in  the  latter  case  the  birds  get  their  feet 
bruised  and  broken. 


114        POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

Most  transportation  companies  will  return  ship- 
ping crates  free  of  charge,  and  m  this  case  it  pays  to 
have  good,  neat  coops.  Such  coops  should  be  made 
strong,  but  of  light,  thin  material,  lath  for  instance. 
Trapdoor  in  top,  side  strips  up  and  down,  not  length- 
wise. Wheat  or  other  food  in  the  bottom  of  a  coop 
often  hurts  the  sale  of  fowls  if  they  are  sold  by  weight. 
When  coops  are  stripped  up  and  down,  then,  when 
desirable,  feed  may  be  given  the  fowls  in  vessels 
placed  outside  the  coop.  Neat  appearance  helps  to 
sell  all  products  and  is  one  of  the  essential  factors  in 
securing  top-notch  price. 

More  fowls  are  shipped  by  express  in  cloth  coops 
in  winter  than  at  anv  other  season.  A  cloth-covered 


FIG    Hi:       SHIPPING   CRATES 

coop  is  scant  protection  to  prevent  frozen  comb.  Take 
the  same  coop,  put  cover  pieces  on  outside  the  cloth 
cover,  as  suggested  in  the  sketch  at  the  right  of  Figure 
in,  and  over  these  stretch  another  covering  of  cloth, 
and  we  have  an  air  space  between  that  will  protect  the 
fowls  from  cold.  Have  a  tight  cover  except  the  slit 
for  the  hand  of  the  expressman,  which  will  also  afford 
ventilation.  With  plenty  of  chaff  in  the  bottom  to 
keep  the  feet  warm,  birds  ought  to  be  very  comfort- 
able in  such  quarters,  even  in  very  cold  weather.  For 
mild  weather  the  crate  shown  at  the  right  of  Figure 
1 1 1  is  one  of  the  best  and  is  quickly  made  from  a  box 
or  second-hand  egg  case. 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES  115 

For  catching  poultry,  use.  a  hook  as  in  Figure 
112.  It  is  made  from  a  rod  three  or  four  feet  long 
with  a  bent  wire  at  the  end.  The  end  of  the  rod  should 
be  ferruled  or  bound  with  fine  wire.  The  fowl  is 
looped  by  one  foot  and  carefully  drawn  in  the  de- 
sired direction. 


FIG    112:       HOOK   FOR   CATCHING   POULTRY 

Exerciser  for  Ducks — Duck  breeders  often  have 
trouble  in  securing  fertile  eggs  because  of  lack  of  ex- 
ercise for  the  breeding  birds.  The  method  described 
by  H.  H.  Stoddard  in  the  New  Egg  Farm,  published 


FIG   113:       DUCK' AT  EXERCISE 

by  Orange  Judd  company,  overcomes  this  obstacle  by 
providing  a  series  of  swimming  tanks-  under  feed 
cylinders  or  feeding  boards,  as  shown  in  Figure  113. 
A  ditch  is  cut  and  boarded1  at  sides  and  bottom,  c 
showing  the  original  surface  of  the  ground,  e  an 


Il6         POULTRY     APPLIANCES     AND     HANDICRAFT 

inclined  plane  of  boards  with  lath  tacked  on  to  secure 
foothold,  and  d  a  platform  with  a  slight  slant  for 
drainage.  The  feed  cylinder  is  at  a,  and  a  yard  or  run- 
way begins  at  3'.  If  the  location  allows  a  shallow 
ditch,  the  approach,  e,  may  be  omitted.  This  tank 
may  be  two,  three  or  four  feet  wide  or  even  more, 
according  to  the  supply  of  running  water.  For  an  ex- 
tensive duck  ranch  the  idea  is  to  have  the  tank  three 
hundred  or  four  hundred  feet  long,  divided  by  wire 
into  sections  for  the  accommodation  of  scores  of  fowls. 


FIG    114:       LEGHORNS    WITH    COMBS    CUT 

The  ditch  and  the  tank  which  lines  it  may  be  so 
constructed  that  the  depth  will  be  just  sufficient  to 
allow  the  ducks  to  assume  the  position  shown  in  the 
illustration,  being  enabled  with  a  little  effort  to  reach 
the  food  which  has  been  dropped  from  above  into  the 
tanks.  While  searching  for  the  food,  their  necks  and 
legs  will  be  actively  employed.  The  author  describes 
a  system  of  cylinders  or  feed  boards  which  extend  the 
whole  length  of  the  tank,  and  by  striking  with  a  ham- 
mer at  one  end  food  is  dropped  from  the  board  or 


THIRTY    USEFUL    DEVICES 


117 


cylinder  into  each  tank.  This  operation,  repeated  sev- 
eral times  a  day  by  the  attendant,  provides  ample 
exercise. 

Cutting  Wings — If  a  person  cares  to,  it  is  possible 
to  cut  the  wings  when  the  chickens  are  so  young  that 
their  flying  ability  will  be  effectually  impaired  for  all 
time.  This  will  often  prove  to  be  a  great  advantage, 
especially  with  fowls  of  the  Leghorn,  Hamburg  and 
Minorca  breeds.  This  is  not  difficult  nor  painful  to 
the  chick,  if  done  at  the  right  time,  and  consists  simply 
in  cutting  the  wing  at  the  last  joint;  the  portion  cut 


FIG     115:       SHIELD    FOR    INJURED    FOWLS 

off  is  but  a  trifle  when  the  chick  is  young,  but  when 
it  is  developed  it  makes  quite  a  material  difference  in 
its  wing  power,  so  much  so  that  it  is  a  comparatively 
small  matter  to  confine  them,  and  so  far  as  practica- 
bility is  concerned,  it  does  not  impair  their  useful 
qualities  in  the  least.  If  the  work  is  done  when  the 
chicken  is  about  ten  or  twelve  days  old,  it  is  scarcely 
painful,  and  the  chick  soon  recovers  its  usual  activity. 
Trimming  Combs — The  drawbacks  of  large 
combs  and  wattles  are  freezing  in  our  northern  states 
and  the  discomforts  and  strain  resulting  from  carrying 


Il8         POULTRY    APPLIANCES    AND    HANDICRAFT 

so  much  weight  on  the  head.  It  appears  as  though 
the  circulation  of  blood  in  the  head  is  somewhat 
affected  by  these  excessive  appendages,  for  it  has  been 
observed  that  a  Leghorn  having  frequent  spells  of 
giddiness  and  staggering  can  sometimes  be  quickly 
and  permanently  cured  by  trimming  the  comb,  and 
we  would  always  recommend  the  trimming  of  both 
comb  and  wattles  for  both  sexes  when  two-thirds 
grown,  as  in  Figure  1 14,  especially  in  view  of  freezing 
when  zero  weather  occurs.  Use  shears  or  scissors  in- 
stead of  a  knife  so  as  to  pinch  the  blood  vessels  and 
mitigate  the  flow  of  blood. 


FIG   Il6:      HOLDING  A   PIGEON 

Shield  for  Injured  Fowls— This  blanket,  made  of 
burlap  or  bagging  (Figure  115),  is  used  to  protect 
hens  or  turkeys  injured  on  back  or  sides  during  breed- 
ing season.  Narrow  bands  or  soft  cords  at  sides  and 
front  attach  the  shield  to  the  fowl  under  the  legs  and 
in  front  of  breast.  Without  such  precaution,  the 
wounds  made  by  spurs  or  claws  are  constantly  being 
reopened  and  become  sometimes  incurable. 

To  hold  a  pigeon  firmly  but  without  hurting  it, 
take  the  bird  as  in  Figure  116,  the  breast  resting  on 
the  flat  of  the  hand,  so  that  the  head  is  over  the  little 
finger,  the  legs  between  the  first  and  second  fingers 
and  the  thumb  across  the  back  of  the  bird.  The  wings 
are  held  closely  by  the  palm  and  ends  of  fingers  and 
the  bird  will  seldom  struggle  or  try  to  escape. 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Balance  for  small  mills   ........    30 

Barrel  with  roosts   .............  105 

Bone  mills  ...................  .    26 

Box   trap,   improved    ...........    92 


Brooder,  a  cheap 
a  handy 
a  small  lamp 
an  improved 
filling  a 


for  fifty   chicks    .............  80 

for  warm  weather   ...........  89 

homemade    ..................  87 

hot    water    ..................  91 

large  hot  water    .............  86 

operation  of    ................  89 

the  sure   ....................  83 

window     ....................  84 

Brooders,  various    .............  75 

Cabinet  for  eggs    ..............    71 

Cat    trap     .....................    94 

Chickens,   carrying  young    ......    75 

feeding  pens   for    ............      6 

feeding    young    ...........  75,   78 

roost   for    ...................    43 

temperature  for    .............    76 

to  dust   .....................  1  06 

Combs,    trimming    .............  117 

Cooker    .......................  no 

small     ......................  in 

Crates,    shipping    ..............  113 

rinder 


Crockery,   gr 


for 


31 


Door,   between  pens  ......  ,  .....    45 

combination     ................    44 

requirements  for    .  .  ..........    44 

self-opening     ................    46 

Doors,    drop    ..................  100 

Ducks,  exerciser  for   ...........  115 

nest  for    ....................    60 

pool   for    ....................    24 

Dust   baths    ...................  105 

Dropping   boards    ..............    41 


Exerciser 


PAGE 
.  .     10 


Feed  box,  protected    

slatted     

cooker  

Feeder,  automatic  for  grains.  .  . 

for   chicks    

for  shell,  bone  and  grit 

Feeders,  automatic  

simple  for  shell  grit 

Feeding  board  

by   clockwork    

hopper,    Bement's    

pens  for  chicks  

Fodder  cutter  . 


2 

no 
7 
3 
3 
4 
5 


2<J 


Food  chopper    28 

Fountain,   covered    14 

for   chicks    , 

for   lamp 

general  purpose    

non-freezing^- 

oyster-can     

protected    , 

warmer     

-inter     . 


Grit  machine,   powerful    33 

pounder    31 

Grundy's  advice  on  hatching.  ...    63 

Hawks,   bounty  for    98 

protection   from    .  , 98 

trapping    . , 99 

Heater  and  ventilator    108 

for  poultry  house    107 

for    water 1 6 

Homemade  incubator 65 

Hook,    poultry    115 

Houses,   cleaning   102 

Incubator   for   farmers   61 

problem,   the    61 

running  an    62 

starting   an    69 

to  make    64 


Egg  carrier    „ 72  I  Incubators,   Grundy   on    63 


tester 

.   61 

turner     
Eggs,    handling    .... 

::::::::::  67 
71 

Injured   fowls,   protecting 
Insect  powder,  to  apply  

Kerosene  emulsion,   to  make.  . 

..118 
.  .106 

..103 
68 

keeping     

72 

71 

testing     ...  o  

62 

..    6^    Lamo    nines    •>  °  •  • 

120 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Manure    bin 42 

Mill  for  green  bones   27 

for   grit    32 

Nests  and  roost    57 

dark    54 

for   ducks    60 

model    51 

movable    54 

secure     53 

simple     51 

recording     55 

wire    54 

Passageway,  convenient  100 

Pigeon,  holding  a    118 

Pulley,    homemade    102 

Pulleys     102 

Pump  for  whitewashing 103 

Rats,   trap   for    92 

Roost  and  nest  59 

a  low  34 

a  model  34 

for  cold  weather  38 

for  heavy  fowls  39 

in  oil  pan  38 

Roosting  plan,  a  warm 38 

room  separate  40  j 

Roosts  and  dropping  boards....  47 

and  manure  bin  42 

cleaner  for  105 

cover  for  105 

for  chickens  43 

improved  35 

lice  proof  36 

on  barrel  105 

portable  34 

support  37 


PAGE 

Scratching,  to  prevent  113 

Shell,  feeder  for  5 

Shield  for  fowls  1 1 8 

Shipping  case  for  eggs  73 

crates  113 

Skunk  trap  94 

to  dispose  of  96 

Stories,  three,  using 106 

Tank    for    water    12 

Tester  for  eggs    79 

Trap  for  cats    94 

for   hawks    99 

for     skunks     , 94 

nests     55 

Trough,    covered    2 

protected    i 

wire i 

Vegetable   cutter    29 

Ventilation,  when  needed    ......  100 

Ventilator,    box    67 

convenient     « 100 

Warm    box    112 

Waste  of  food    i 

Water  can,  casing  for   22 

dish,   box   for 23 

dish,     safe .    22 

for   ducks 24 

heater     1 6 

supply  plan  of . .    it 

Whitewashing,   brush    for    103 

with    pump    .  .  103 

Window    brooder     84 

Windows,    double 49 

good 46 

warm     48 

Wings,    cutting    117 


MAS 


SEP171352LU 
FEB    6 

|H*f  K$     JAN     rt 


02199? 
AUTO  DISC. 

0  6  1993 


U.  C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


101920 


